


Ring on Chime Child

by CallmePhire



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Bobby Singer's House, Bottom Castiel/Top Dean Winchester, Canon-Typical Violence, Domestic Castiel/Dean Winchester, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, Gabriel (Supernatural) is Loki, Good Parent John Winchester, Good Parent Mary Winchester, John Winchester is Not Homophobic, M/M, Protective Sam Winchester, Switching, Top Castiel/Bottom Dean Winchester, lucifer and castiel are not related, the bunker, there will be cliffhangers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:53:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 36,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25792408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CallmePhire/pseuds/CallmePhire
Summary: It was raining the day he left. Not a violent rain like this one, just as if the sky was crying. It was cold that night he packed what little belongings he had and fled for the first time.Castiel is on his way to Lawrence, when he gets there....will he be permitted to stay?
Relationships: Castiel & Dean Winchester & Sam Winchester, Castiel/Dean Winchester, Charlie Bradbury/Gilda, Ellen Harvelle/Bobby Singer, John Winchester/Mary Winchester
Comments: 16
Kudos: 38





	1. Good Night, Good Morning

**Author's Note:**

> Heyyyyyyyyyyy! So I've been working on this one for the longest. I'm glad to say it's completely written, so I'll be posting as I edit. I got inspired by the myth of the chime child, where kids born at certain times are believed to have certain abilities. It will be explained what Castiel's are throughout the story, but any and all questions are welcome. Ok before this get's too long let me just say I really hope you enjoy it! xoxo happy reading!!

It was raining the day he left. Not a violent rain like this one, just as if the sky was crying. It was cold that night he packed what little belongings he had and fled for the first time. This particular night it was warm and humid, the heat stuck to him just as his damp clothes did. The rain itself was like ice, a complete contrast for the heat of an early summer evening. Thunder like war drums sounded overhead, consistent lightening went off like a flickering light bulb. Today was a miserable day for travel. He’d much rather be in a warm bed with a book in his hand and a warm cup of tea sitting nearby. The choice was no longer his though. The last words of his mother rung in his head as it always did when it was time to leave. _Run Castiel and don’t stop until the wind tells you to. When they come you must leave, stay safe my love._

Hugging his coat tighter around his body he waited for the bus to come. He didn’t have a particular destination in mind, just knew that they were getting closer and he needed to leave immediately. Wherever this bus’s last stop was, was where he’d get off. The wind whipped around him, telling him it was time to go. He’d seen it in his latest vision, but the weather was further confirmation that he needed to get out of there. He’d tried ignoring it once, and almost met his demise.

Finally, the bus he was fated to be on pulled up to the curb he stood on. The doors swept open revealing a friendly face on the driver. He smiled back politely, but he didn’t feel the emotion that his expression conveyed. He was tired. Exhausted of running, drained from the strain of the way he had to live his life. What shattered him the most was the ever present loneliness that weighed on him. He hoped that wherever he was going the weather would be much nicer than this. His feet carried him past the few seats that people were seated in until he was in the very back. Being careful not to make eye contact with any of the individuals he moved in a trance like way until he got to his seat. Eye contact always opened the door for communication, something he was trying to avoid at all costs. Due to his nature people always flocked to him, with their problems, with their secrets. Castiel was a person that any and every other person felt they could trust. While in transit he evaded conversation at all costs. Putting his bag in the overhead and shrugging off his coat, hanging it on a hook in hopes that it would dry. He sat down and closed his eyes as the bus pulled away from the curb to carry him where it may.

* * * *

“Hey hun. Sorry to wake you, but this here is the last stop.”

Castiel was instantly alert as someone was shaking his shoulder gently. His eyes blinked up to the friendly face of the driver. She had an almost sympathetic look on her face, like she could tell he was running. He wondered how many people she had to do this for on a daily basis. He shook the last tendrils of sleep off of himself as the woman stepped back, still smiling down at him.

“Where are we?” his sleep glazed voice sounded gratingly.

“Lawrence, Kansas hun. Last stop.”

“Thank you.”

He pulled himself from the seat to gather his things. Thankfully his coat was fully dry and his duffel was as well. He checked the contents praying that no one robbed him. He didn’t have much, but of what he had was immensely valuable to him, including the couple hundred in cash he had to his name. With the little quality of life he had, holding down a solid job wasn’t something he could do. Every place he went it was odd jobs and temporary positions that he could have. Working a gas station, being a secretary when someone was on maternity leave, janitor in an elementary school. Those were all honest jobs and he didn’t view them as lesser then being some corporate honcho, but that was all he could afford to take on. As a child he was home schooled by his mother and his nanny, college was never in the cards for him, so he had no formal education in his adulthood. With the terrible job market of this day and age there wasn’t much to offer. What little money he came by he held near and dear to him.

Once he had himself together he got walked towards the front of the bus. The first thing on his to do list was to find a place to stay. A light breeze from just outside the bus doors whipped towards him, telling him that he was safe to stay here. He silently thanked it and as quick as it came it left. He took one last look at the driver, giving her another polite smile before he stepped off the stairs.

“I hope you find what you’re looking for.” She smiled before shutting the doors and driving away.

* * * *

Surprised. That’s the only way that he could describe how he was feeling right now. Not only did Lawrence have a nice, little Inn to stay in, he was lucky enough to find one that had a decent rate for extended stay. Everything he would need was in decent walking distance of the place he chose to stay. Hometown Inn. There was a little grocery store around the corner that had a pharmacy, a park a few blocks over, and the town’s library was a mile jog away. The weather was nice enough, winter had just broken here and spring was clawing its way in. This place was all too perfect, he’d hate to have to leave here.

He took the risk of paying for a full month, having a good feeling about it. The woman at the front desk was all manners of lovely, she exuded this intense maternal energy that he was instantly drawn too. It was an energy similar to his mothers, which was why he allowed himself to openly meet eyes with this woman. Her aura was slightly different though, where his mother’s was very mellow in its intensity, like a warm blanket that wrapped around you in times of need, this woman’s was like a support force that could pick you up when you have fallen. Castiel certainly felt like he fell, and being in this woman’s company had lightened his load if only for a little while. She didn’t seem to have the same response that other people had when his eyes met theirs, she’d simply given him her name, Mary. They talked for a little bit while she put in his information for his stay. Usually places like these asked for a home address, but she didn’t. She told him how she lived in town and that he’d enjoy his time here, little bits of small talk floated between them and it was refreshing not to immediately be taken into a heavy conversation. As she gave him the key to the room they parted with one last bit of information.

“A friend of mine is looking to hire an assistant of sorts. Nothing fancy, she owns a new age shop a couple of blocks from here.”

That struck him as a little odd.

“What makes you think I need a place of employment?”

She chuckled. “I know a drifter when I see one.”

* * * *

The room he’d been given wasn’t at all fancy, but a complete contradiction to the usual places he stayed. It looked like he’d stepped into the bedroom of a cottage rather than a room at an inn. The walls were a dark, rich green to compliment the deep, shining brown of the wooden furniture. The coverings of the bed were a navy and tan, making the bed stand out. Castiel sat down his meager belongings and toed off his shoes before exploring the rest of the room. The bathroom didn’t smell like cigarette smoke like in other motels, even though he always got a non-smoking room. It smelled fresh and of light cleaning products. The tub and tile was in that same green, while the rest of the room matched the tan of the sheets. He wasn’t a stickler for décor by any means, that just wasn’t a luxury he could afford. He simply appreciated the feeling this room gave him. It was clean, warm, but not at all stuffy. Whoever did this room really knew how to make a man feel welcomed.

With all the feel-good energy he got from the room stored close to his heart, he was ready to take care of business. First, he needed to get out of these clothes and freshen up. He felt filthy and without even needing to take a whiff he knew he didn’t smell great. He took a shower, loving how quick the water heated up and how it didn’t go cold after the first 5 minutes. Second, he had to get food. Not having eaten since the afternoon prior his stomach was starting a mutiny. The room came with a mini refrigerator and microwave combo, plus a coffee machine. That was quite exciting for him and opened up possibilities for what he could eat while he stayed here.

There was so much to do and so little daylight to do it with. He wanted to be inside the safety of his room before the sun went down. He didn’t know this town at all, but he’d learned from experience that with the cover of night there was often danger. Ready to go he walked to a small market that was a 5 minutes from the Inn. As he passed the front desk he noticed the woman that checked him in wasn’t there, replaced by a dark haired woman that looked closer to his age. She didn’t look up, clicking away on her desk, looking as bored as ever.

At the market, he found all the things he’d need, including a cute mug with little bumblebees on it to use for his tea and coffee. Some small microwavable dinners and small frozen pizzas were probably the bulk of his diet. While not the healthiest it was the most affordable. He made a point to try and offset that with some fruits and packaged salads that would keep for a week. Plus his random walks he’d take when he wasn’t working. It would only benefit him to know where he was, and where he shouldn’t go. He’d kept his purchases light, nothing more than what could fit in his duffel should he have to flee at a moment’s notice.

Next on his list was to get very familiar with any public transport that was available. Every line, every form, he made a point to know. Escape was always the goal in mind. When he needed to go, there wasn’t time to wait 30 minutes for the next bus.

So far this Lawrence place was looking better than the last several places he lived. Everyone that passed him offered a kind smile, some even waved. As much as he hoped the nightmare would end he just couldn’t allow that feeling to manifest permanently. Not yet.

88888888888888888

After that first day he explored Lawrence in small increments at a time. Waking up in the insanely comfortable bed at the Inn was a new thing for him. Most places he’d stayed, subpar décor and an even worse bed. Sun streamed through the heavy, thick curtains each time he got up and moonlight when he was going to bed. On the first day he’d visited the park, it had a playground for children, a nice track around a manmade lake, and a small patch of woods with a trail through it. Once he’d finished exploring there he’d gone to the diner near the Inn and got a small dinner, feeling quite good about what he accomplished that day. Knowing he couldn’t do this again until he gained some employment, so savoring this meal was important to him.

On the second day he went to the public library to see if they could hire him. Unfortunately, they weren’t hiring at the time so that was a bust. He’d enjoyed library work that he’d done in the past, the quiet of moving with the motions, only needing to put the books back and check people out. It was often busy work, and he liked the distraction that it provided him with.

It took him a week to scrounge up the courage to go to the shop that Mary had advised him to get a job there. His main motivation was to avoid running out of money. He learned that lesson years ago, it was much better to be uncomfortable in a job he would rather not do, than to have no roof over his head. With her insistent poking reminders at his aid he finally put his suit on and headed over. The jacket and pants were far too large and no matter how many videos on the internet he watched he could never seem to tie his tie correctly, it was the nicest set of clothes he owned and they were perfect interview wear. They belonged to his father, and the only belongings of his that he’d had left.

So on a sunny Saturday morning he used the small iron and board provided with his room, he made himself look as nicest as he could before going on his way. The Light Path was the name of the store, tucked beside a hardware store. From the outside it looked much smaller than it was, but when he pushed over the glass door he was delighted to find it more spacious. Rows and rows of shelving lined the front of the shop, with a wide aisle down the middle that led to the register counter. The walls were solid black and the floors were purple with different runes and symbols painted in white and gold. He recognized a few of them as he walked towards the counter, hoping to find the owner. Behind the counter were three doors, one with a sign that said employees only, another said reading room, and the third off to the side was a restroom. He scented lavender in the air and the energy of the shop brought him such a rush of calm and safety that he hadn’t felt since he’d left his parent’s home that night of the rain.

On the counter was a tiny little gong, obviously in the place of a bell to get some service, he used the small stick to ring it. The thing was surprisingly loud for its size, the door that was the reading room opened revealing a short dark skinned woman with curly dark hair. A toothy white, welcoming smile was on her face as she walked towards the counter.

“Hello my name is Ca—“

“Hello Castiel. I’ve been expecting you.”

Now he knew that there were a lot of frauds out in the world, claiming to have abilities that were not only beyond their comprehension, but also not in their grasp. The energy he was feeling from this woman told him that she was no such fraud, but the real deal. He held out his hand and she just looked at it before turning to walk from behind the counter to stand in front of him. Instead of a hand shake he was embraced in a hug, she was warm like her aura and he melted into her hold so easily. He hadn’t realized how touch starved he was until this moment. Before this when was the last time he hugged someone? When was that last time he was held period? This woman knew he needed it and gave it so freely.

“My name is Missouri and you have the job. I expect you here at 8 o clock every morning to help me open up. You’re shift will be from 8-4pm when my closing girl comes in. Your responsibilities are to keep the place clean and neat, run the register, and answer the phones. I have a book on the shelf below the till draw where you write appointments.”

She pulled him behind the counter to show him everything he needed to know about the register. The fact that she kept an appointment book meant she had a steady stream of people coming for readings. He would be busy here, and he welcomed the change it could bring him. For the first time in a long time Castiel was excited about something. He refused to hope though, hope gave a person a false sense of security that a person in his predicament just couldn’t afford. But excitement was a welcomed feeling and he deserved it.

Missouri herself was a stern, but friendly woman, he also suspected had a great deal of patience. She trained him on everything he needed to know to do his job efficiently. He was grateful for her thoroughness, so it left little room for error on his part. It also made him happy to know that he’d be receiving his paycheck weekly, so he could closely budget himself.

“Now do you have a bank account sweetie? Cause I don’t shell out cash, you’ll be getting an old fashioned check.”

“Um no I don’t.”

Oh no here came the awkward part of every interview. Most places paid their employees via direct deposit. He always received a judging side eye and grumble for his lack of an account at his age. He liked to stick to cash, the lesser his paper trail was the safer he was, and the longer it took for them to find him.

“That’s alright. At the end of the week head down the Marv’s. He owns a check cashing place. Mary can tell you where it is.” She was ushering him towards the door with a hand on his back. “Now go enjoy your weekend and I’ll see you on Monday.”

* * * *

Castiel took Missouri’s advice and decided to enjoy his weekend. Though there were a plethora of useful places to venture to during the day he had no idea what the night life was like. He hadn’t left his hotel room much besides getting some new socks and food. Catching Mary before her shift ended he asked her about it and she directed him to a place called the Roadhouse. According to her it was a pretty laid back place where he could get good food and even better beer. Now he wasn’t much of a drinker, but he thought he’d celebrate a little for his new employment. Wearing a plain black t-shirt and a cardigan with his least worn jeans he was ready to be on his way.

When he walked in he was delighted to find the atmosphere warm and friendly. It wasn’t a formal place in any sense of the word, the sign outside was only half lit up and the parking lot wasn’t even paved. It was the kind of place you’d expect in a homey town like this, somewhere you can meet up with long-time friends that are practically family, a place you’d go to wind down after a hard days work.

He took a stool at the bar and settled on it, getting taken care of by a friendly blonde young woman that reminded him of Mary. Was everyone in this town friendly? It threw him off kilter to be on the receiving sound of so much politeness. Normally he never ventured into smaller towns like this. In a big city he was just another face in the crowd. People didn’t ask questions. Lawrence, however, surpassed any small town stereotypes he’d seen in movies and tv. Of course he hadn’t been here that long and issues could always arise, but so far he was enjoying himself. It would make it so much harder to leave.

The woman’s service was quick and sooner than expected Castiel was digging into his plate of cheesy bacon fries and sipping from an ice cold beer. He sensed someone coming towards him, and out the corner of his eye he saw a man sit on the stool next to him. Peculiar, most of the bar was empty seats and this man chose to sit directly next to him.

“Hey Jo can I get my usual.”

“Coming right up.” The blonde, now he knew was named Jo smiled at the man before walking off to fill his order.

“You’re not from around here.” This batch of words was directed at him this time and it wasn’t phrased as a question.

When he turned to chance a glance at the stranger he was met with a sight that couldn’t be unseen. Mary had obviously sent him to a trap. The man’s voice was enough to send him packing, but his eyes, they were so glass bottle green, with little flecks of copper and gold mixed in. Message-in-a-bottle green. All your wildest desires tucked inside, written in haiku format. The man was sinfully beautiful, and he’d only looked at his face. Who knows what kind of destruction the rest of him would cause? It took a minute for him to re-register the fact that the man had spoken to him and even longer for him to find his voice to respond.

“How can you tell?”

“You just have that look about you.” He smiled. “I’m Dean.” The man offered his hand.

“Castiel.”

“Hmm the angel of Thursday. That your real name?” he chuckled and took a generous gulp of his beer, a single teardrop of it running down the side of his lips and dropping off at this chin. Castiel wanted to lick it off.

“If it wasn’t I probably wouldn’t divulge that information.” He took a nervous sip of his beer, giving himself some time away from those friendly, open eyes.

“Got a point there. Just passing through?”

“Not sure yet.”

Dean’s aura was the most interesting one he’d seen thus far, at first glance it was guarded and dark, rough around its edges. But Castiel wasn’t the kind of person to take things at face value so he looked a bit deeper to find the chaotic warmth that was really inside Dean, the things that he didn’t show on the outside. It had to be the most beautiful aura he’d seen in a long time, almost pained him to look at its true form. With vibrant yellows and reds, underneath the level of murkiness Dean was a wonderful person. He pondered what kind of life this beautiful man had been given that he had to guard all that gorgeous light inside him.

“Well if you ever need some reasons to stay I could show you around.”

“From what I’ve seen this is a very nice town.”

“It certainly is.” He gave Castiel a plain in sight once over before hopping off of the stool. “See ya round Cas.” He waved and sauntered off.

Castiel wouldn’t let himself hope for anything but that.


	2. We're Getting There

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey humans! Got another one for ya. So I actually made art and like section breakers for this story, but I can't figure out for the life of me how to put them in this story. If anyone knows how please help! comment here or dm me on ig @artonphire. Anyways hope you enjoy this chapter!

Waking up Monday morning had been much easier than he’d expected. His stomach was a blended mix of nerves and hunger. Crawling out of bed, his hands combing through his hair as if he’d ever have a hope at getting the strands to lay down. When he was younger, he used to be made fun of by the other little kids in their clan, but his mother always told him that his magick was in his head and that’s why his hair was so unruly. As an impressionable 5 year old he’d had no other choice but to believe his mom, but as he grew older he held onto that mantra, and when his nerves seemed to get the best of him he’d run his hands through his hair for comfort.

After getting dressed in a thin sweater and some worn out jeans, he took a deep breathe before heading out towards the lobby of the Inn. Missouri had instructed that he wear regular clothes because he’d ‘looked like he was gonna take over the world’ in his interview clothes. He was thankful for the relaxed dress clothes, gave him much less to fuss about every day.

He was set on doing what he normally did every morning when he left the Inn, greet Mary and take her coffee order to get from the diner around the corner and bring it back to her before starting his day. She was a genuinely nice woman and he loved their small conversations, always light and bright that left him feeling better than he did when he woke up. What he didn’t anticipate was seeing Dean standing at the desk, leaning over it with a million-watt smile on his face talking to Mary.

“Heya Cas. Funny seeing you here.”

“I could say the same to you.”

Castiel was always wary of over friendly people, not just for the affect that he seemed to have on them, but anyone could be an agent for _them_. You could never tell until it was too late and it was time to leave again. Frankly, he just wasn’t ready to leave, he quite liked it here. Seeing Dean here when he hadn’t told him where he was staying annoyed him a bit, he hoped Dean had nothing to do with those horrible people.

“You two met already?” Mary asked smiling.

“Yeah he came by the Roadhouse last night. I was just there talking to Ellen and decided to bother Jo for a little bit.”

“Well that makes inviting him to dinner a little easier.” She replied, turning her eyes to him.

“What do you say?” Dean asked.

“Um I couldn’t—impose—in your home.”

“It ain’t my home anymore Cas and you wouldn’t be imposing, plus it’s kinda hard to say no to mom.”

Mom. He could see it now that they were so close together. Their auras did have a similar energy, probably why he was so taken with Dean in the first place, hers was much calmer than his chaotic spiking, but it still contained that bright happy glow once you looked past his dark guarding. Mary’s face looked so open and cheerful, Dean was right, he would have the hardest time trying to deny this woman anything.

“Well who am I to turn down a home cooked meal?” he smiled shyly. “I must be getting to work though. I’ll talk to you later Mary.” He paused regarding the other man. “It was nice to see you again Dean.”

“Likewise, angel.”

* * * *

“Is that where we are in our relationship Dean?” his mom reached out for a quick swat on his arm.

“Ow Ma what are you talking about?!” he rubbed at the hurting area.

“ _Likewise, angel_.” She said mockingly. “Flirting in front of me now huh?”

“I’m not flirting Ma! His name is Castiel for crying out loud! He’s the guy.”

“I know he is.” She sat back down and sipped on the coffee he’d brought her. “Why do you think I gave him such a low rate on staying here? Why I sent him to the Roadhouse? Why do you think I had Missouri hire him? Just didn’t expect you to start openly flirting with him in front of my face.”

“For the last time I wasn’t flirtin’ Ma. And yeah, yeah, I was wondering why you were playing dumb.”

“Have you no shame in front of your poor mother.” She chuckled. “I saw those wondering eyes between you. Don’t think I didn’t notice. I may be old, but I know an attractive man when I see one.”

“You aren’t old, and this is getting weird.” He pushed himself off the counter. “I’m gonna head to work. Get your head out of the gutter.”

“Maybe after dinner you should ask him out.”

“I’m not listening to anymore of this!” and with that he stomped out of the door and was on his way.

Someone should have told him that his charge was so damned attractive. That was important information that seemed to be left out of his briefing. His family knew about his bisexuality, would’ve been nice to know that the man was at least a little bit attractive. He rolled his eyes at his own musings. Who was he kidding? Besides Charlie he was surrounded by a bunch of straight people who were accepting but also blind.

Seeing the man in the bar last night, he didn’t have a lot to go on, except for dark hair and blue eyes. His dad couldn’t have been vaguer if he tried. It was Dean’s intuition, and the little they had to go off of the guy that led him to the right dude. No one in a 30-mile radius would walk into the Roadhouse in a damned trench coat, let alone someone so high on the gorgeous scale. He didn’t even have a type, but after seeing this dude he just might. The individual features by themselves weren’t anything to write home about, but in the combination that made up this man it almost rendered Dean speechless. The fork in a socket hair, the space blue eyes, and the gorgeous body he was convinced was under that coat. The man was far more than just a face. It all spelled out to a beautiful man that was eons out of Dean’s league.

Then he opened his mouth.

It was like someone dropped some heavenly glass down his throat and gave him the voice of all voices. It was the perfect mix being a growl and actually speaking. The perfect pitch too, any higher or lower and it wouldn’t have the all enticing quality that it did.

Now he was coming to dinner at his parents’ house. He needed to meet up with his best friend before tonight.

He walked into her bookstore, somewhere he was more than familiar with since he helped with a lot of the renovations and interior design of the place. At first Charlie had hired a contractor, Dean had a lot going on at the time, so he wasn’t offended that she didn’t ask him. The dude was a scam artist at its finest, tried to upcharge her on everything under the sun, made fake estimates for products he wasn’t actually getting. He was bad news from the beginning. So, they got rid of him and with the help from his uncle, dad, and brother they got the rest of the job done. All in all, Moondoor was one of his favorite places on earth.

“Charles, I need you.” He finally found his friend in her office, hunched over order forms.

“What can I do ya for?”

“Red alert.” He plopped down in the plushy armchair that he brought specifically for his use in her office. “I met the guy.”

“Yeah? How is he?”

“He’s friggin gorgeous.” He sighed.

“Ohhhh…so this is _that_ kind of red alert?” she sneered.

“What other red alert did you think?”

“Oh, just of the supernatural variety. Like it usually is.”

“No, no, this is the other kind.”

“Go on.”

“So, I saw him in the Roadhouse, Mom thought it would be a good idea to meet him there.”

He began retelling what happened the night before. The plan when he walked in was to start up a nice long conversation, introduce the guy to Jo and Ellen, but he’d frozen up. The face and the voice bested him, and he fled as fast as he possibly could.

“Smooth Winchester.” She cackled.

“Shut the hell up.” He pointed a firm finger at her. “I did the best that I could. Now Mom done invited him to dinner.”

“You’ve gotta get it together then. Maybe a beer or two would help.”

“I can’t drink now, I’ve gotta drive back.”

“Maybe a slice of pie?” she tried.

“Now you’re talking.” He smiled, getting up from his seat to go get him a piece.

* * * *

Castiel quickly got into the motions of working around the shop. There was a bit of a rush in the morning with people looking to buy some teas for breakfast. He’d familiarized himself with where everything was when Missouri trained him. Thanks to his family’s eclectic interests he was very knowledgeable about these things. The customers he’d helped were all friendly people, some got struck by his gaze and he tried to deal with that as quickly as possible.

One young woman in particular he got stuck talking to for a solid hour, she just wouldn’t stop. He’d taken several customers in between, but she continued on. Missouri had to intervene, steering the girl towards the front of the shop and doing something to distract her. He’d apologized profusely but the older woman just waved him off.

The rest of his shift had gone rather uneventful, he’d checked in one of Missouri’s appointments. A frazzled young man with red rimmed eyes came in searching for the woman. She’d taken him into the reading room for a half hour and came out looking much better then when he went in. Whatever Missouri told him must’ve made his whole day.

Once he was dismissed from work, he headed back to the Inn, excited about the book he brought before leaving work. His plans were to curl up with a cup of tea and enjoy a night in. Walking back to the Inn he’d recalled the event of this morning. Seeing Dean standing there in all his brightness was shocking, so glad he’d managed to not make a complete fool of himself. It was when he walked in the door and saw Mary’s smiling face that he remembered that he’d been invited to dinner at her home.

“Castiel, how was work?”

“It was one of the best first days I’ve ever had.” He returned the smile.

“Are you still going to join us for dinner tonight? My husband and my youngest son are home and they will be joining us.”

Dean had been right; he couldn’t say no to this woman. Not when she looked so hopeful of his acceptance. He’d just have to try his best to get through this.

“What time should I arrive? Should I bring anything?”

“Around 7 is ok.” She grabbed her bag and approached where he still stood just inside the door. “Just come hungry, I’ve got a big meal planned.”

“Will do.” She patted his shoulder and left him to his own devices.

* * * *

_“We have to tell him eventually. The guy isn’t stupid, he’ll figure it out.”_

_“Trust needs to be gained first. Can’t just reveal that we know right away.”_

_“Yeah that’s not going to go well.”_

_“Just concentrate on staying close. Get to know him, be friends, gain his trust.”_

_“Alright I’m on it.”_

* * * *

There just wasn’t enough time in the world right now to prepare Castiel for what he was going to do to himself. He was welcomed in someone’s home, their safe space, a sanctuary if you will. These people were genuinely interested in having him as a guest, this was new for him. Spending a half hour trying to figure out what to wear, not that he had much, but the combinations were endless. Settling finally on a dark gray turtleneck and black jeans he deemed himself presentable enough, even if the collar of the shirt was a little worn from years of overuse.

The next battle was trying to figure out what to bring. He was raised by an amazing mother who taught him many valuable things, one of them being to never show up to someone’s house empty handed. Even if you weren’t instructed to bring anything it was still a common curtesy to contribute. Mary had said that she was planning a big meal so a food item wouldn’t be the smartest thing to bring. He settled on some kind of beverage, but that led to just what drink could he bring? Were they wine people and if so what kind of wine? Were they beer people? That opened another avenue that Castiel wasn’t too keen on exploring as he knew nothing about what could be viewed as good beer. That ate up another hour in the store before he settled on a bottle of red.

By the time he’d gotten back to the Inn he realized he’d had no idea where they even lived. Mary had forgotten to give him the address and he needed to know if he had enough time to get there. He rang up Missouri and she chuckled at her friend’s forgetfulness and gave him the address. Pulling up the location on his phone he was relieved that it was only a 15-minute walk.

With the wine bag in hand he took his time making his way over there. He was nervous and could feel the evidence of it in his shaking hands. What was expected of him? Surely these people were quite friendly and talkative if he were going by what he’d experienced from two members of the family. They’d talk and he couldn’t just sit there and listen like he usually did; he’d have to participate like a regular person and that was daunting in itself. His people skills were extremely rusty outside of commonplace politeness. Castiel was a loner, use to the life of solitude. He wasn’t happy about it, but he was certainly use to it, having no one but himself to keep him company.

Before he knew it, he was standing in front of their door. With a quick glance at his phone he was a few minutes early. Now or never, he thought raising his hand to knock. He didn’t have to wait long as he heard movement and voices inside. When the white door swung open, he was greeted by a very tall man that was too young to be Dean’s father, yet too large to be his younger brother. The resemblance was there but in the most subtle ways. Their auras held the most similarities, but while Dean’s had the rough chaos of guarded emotions, this man’s had an outer ring of a deep sadness.

“You must be Castiel.” a large hand was thrusted towards him, and he hesitated for a moment before giving it a firm shake. “I’m Sam, Dean’s brother, come on in.”

The giant man—Sam—stepped aside letting him step into the entry way. On the left wall behind the door was a large mirror and a coat rack, a bowl containing varied amounts of keys sat on a little end table. As he stepped further inside, feet gliding under him on the shining wood floors, he was assaulted with the heavy, happy scent of home cooking and family. It was a heavenly smell that wrapped its warm arms around him as he was greeted by Mary and an older man, he assumed was her husband. The smiles on these people’s faces were so open and honest that all the nervous energy that pent up inside him was now melting away. Of course, it was reinstated as he saw Dean walk through the front door.

“Heya Cas.” He greets him before anyone else with that disorienting smile of his. 

He watches as Dean says hello in a different manner to each of his loved ones. A big embrace for his mother, a clap on the back for his father, and punch to the arm followed by a hug for his brother. Mary ushers everyone into the little dining room where the food is spread wide over the table.

“This looks amazing Mary. Thank you for inviting me.” he says politely as Sam passes him the dish of mashed potatoes.

Dinner went as comfortable as it could since he hasn’t done this in such a long time. Everyone did their best to make him feel welcome. Always including him in conversation and listening carefully whenever he did speak. Even thanking him for the wine, popping it open and each enjoying a glass. They never asked anything too deep, never overstepping any boundaries. What kept his attention the most was the way Dean kept tossing a soft friendly smile towards him. It was a hugely different smile then what he showed him last night. Dean was truly in his element and that much was clear in his aura alone. The rough edges that were usually present had melted and melded with the bright colors creating an array of beautiful colors.

When plates were cleared, Castiel offered to help Mary clean-up and was immediately kicked out of the kitchen with a beer shoved in his hand and sent into the living room with Dean and John. Well that answered his question, they were both wine and beer people. Deciding to keep the brand name in his memory for next time. He sat on the couch next to Dean, but trying to keep his distance.

“So what brings you to Lawrence Castiel?” John took a sip of his whiskey filled glass, fixing Castiel with a serious expression.

Dean pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed loudly before saying, “That’s none of our business Dad.”

“I’m just making polite conversation son. I don’t mean nothing by it.”

“That ain’t polite when you hardly know the man. Next topic.”

Castiel agreed with Dean completely. That was a heavy question that he’d rather not answer if he didn’t have to. He was grateful for the green-eyed man defending him.

“How do you like working for Missouri?” John asked, immediately eyeing Dean for approval of the subject change.

“It’s quite nice. She’s a lovely woman.”

“You don’t gotta be gentle son, we know Missouri is a force to be reckoned with.” He followed up with a full-bodied laugh and Dean even let out a chuckle of his own.

“Don’t go bad mouthing my friend John.” Mary tossed as her and Sam walked in to join the rest of them.

She sat on the arm of the large chair John sat in, his left arm stretched out to wrap around her waist. Instead of Sam sitting in the middle, since it was the only seat available on the couch, Dean scooted over so he ended up plastered by Castiel’s side. He was warm from shoulder to knee, and that began the longest time of body closeness Castiel had experienced in a long time. He was no longer the center of attention, which he was happy for, the family talked about a bunch of different things, concerning people he’d never met.

“Dean, honey, why don’t you show Castiel the box you’re building me in the yard? He loves gardens and I was telling him how I’m starting my own.”

None the wiser the two men raised from their seats, Castiel trailing behind Dean towards the back of the house. Later the man would look back on this moment and remember it as Mary’s thinly veiled attempt at getting the two of them alone. The night was calm here, that’s the first thing he’d noticed as he began living here. It was all hustle and lazy bustle during the day, but once the sun went down, so did everyone else. He was glad for the change of pace this place brought as compared to the other places he’d travelled to. Always cities, where he was just a face in the crowd. He hadn’t settled in a country-like setting since the night he ran for good. Couldn’t take the quiet, and people knowing his name. He didn’t know why he stayed here, could’ve easily stayed the night, and continued on. Here he stood in the backyard of a common mother, and with him was her gorgeous son. He’d spent dinner with these people, probably would be invited back once more. Dean explained all that he planned for his mother’s garden, he spoke with such passion and ease that you would only expose to a friend or a lover. With those grass green eyes, alluring frame, and vibrant sense of being Castiel could easily seeing himself being one or the other.

That was the danger of letting himself say yes to dinner.

* * * *

His shift was moving swiftly, he was neither sad nor relieved, and he was comfortable here. Missouri had quite a stack up of appointments, some people from out of town were travelling here just to see her, so he was relatively left alone out front. There was a steady stream of people, some got caught in his gaze and others didn’t. He handled it all by himself. It was a warm Friday afternoon and Castiel planned to go for a long walk once the sun went down. For the most part he’d kept to his motel room, between that and working for 8 hours he was getting a little cabin fever. The outdoors on a calm summer night would do him wonders. At least that was his plan until Dean walked through the door.

With a confident stride the man walked towards the counter, maintaining eye contact the entire time. The store was void of any other customers and his shift was twenty minutes from being over, so he’d finished all his tasks. Missouri was still with a client. There was nothing to stop him with conversing with this beautiful man.

“Heya Cas.” He smiled as he leaned on the counter, putting the two of them that much closer together.

“Hello Dean.” He smiled. “How are you?”

“I’m better now. You got any plans after work?”

“I was just going to go for a walk.”

“In the park or just around town?” he drummed his fingers on top of the counter.

Dean has nice hands. He found himself distracted by them. Soft yet worn from manual labor. He could see the callouses on his knuckles, but the rest of the skin looked smooth. Castiel wondered what kind of work he did that his knuckles were so rough. He was so taken with the man’s hands it took him a minute to realized he’d been asked a question.

“Um yes. I was just going to explore around town.”

“Well if you’d like some company, I can be your tour guide.” 

Before he could think of politely declining his mouth was moving, “Yes I’d like that.”

“Awesome.” Dean smiled and his aura spiked with bright yellows and oranges. He seemed quite pleased with Castiel agreeing to explore together. “When do you get off?”

Castiel took a glance at the register screen to see he only had 15 minutes left. He relayed the time to Dean and watched how his face lit up once again. Missouri came out of her room, saying goodbye to her appointment and called Dean inside. Castiel didn’t think anything of it seeing as how she seemed close with his family. When Dean finally came out, he had a slight frown on his face. First instinct told him to ask Dean if he was alright, but he thought better against it. It wasn’t his business what they discussed, and it was surprising to him that he was concerned in the first place.

“Ready to go?”

“Um yes let me just get my bag.”

Once they stepped outside, they were immediately on what Dean called the nickel tour. He showed him where all the good places to get food where. Showed him a short cut through a small patch of woods to get to the Roadhouse. They travelled until the sun was setting in hues of oranges and purples. All the time walking closer than what would normally be acceptable for two people who hardly knew each other. The body heat coming off the man was higher than the heat of the day. Rolling over him in waves, tingling his skin. Most of their time was spent in comfortable silence. Castiel was never good with starting lasting conversations, felt content letting others lead them and adding his own words when necessary. It was like Dean could sense it and let the silence hang between them. Only giving tidbits of backstory for each place they visited. He could tell which places had the most history for the other man, those had the longest stories. The Roadhouse held a lot of history for Dean, and Castiel envied that. To have a place you could tell stories about meant you’ve been somewhere for a significant amount of time. He’d had no place like that. The longest he’d spent somewhere was 6 months. He was fearing for his life. Not a lot of time to go making memories. Not trying to be too hopeful, but he wanted this little warm town to be a place to make memories. He certainly would be remembering this day.

“So, the last place I wanna show you is where I work. There’s a nice little ice cream stand nearby. Don’t know about you but I’m sweating my balls off.” Dean chuckled.

Castiel was led to a pretty nice-looking garage. The doors were open revealing two large bays where a man and a woman were currently working on vehicles. Dean waved animatedly as they walked up. The blonde woman was the first to walk out, he’d recognized her from the Roadhouse. She hugged Dean in greeting before sliding her attention over to Castiel.

“Didn’t you come to the bar last week?”

“Yes, yes I did.” He cleared his throat. “You were the bartender.”

“Yes I am. I’m also a better mechanic then this big lug over her.” She pointed her thumb at Dean, a smirk on her lips.

“Hey now. Sure your mom didn’t raise you to be a liar.” Dean chuckled and shoved the smaller woman playfully.

“Hmm you look different out in the sunlight.” She ignored Dean’s gesture. “I see now what Dean was going on about your eyes.”

The most beautiful hue of pink rose up on the man’s cheeks, his full lips formed a tight line in embarrassment. “Shut your damned mouth Joanna Beth.”

Dean suddenly grabbed him by the wrist and pretty much dragged him away from the shop, with the sound of Jo’s laughter sounding off behind them. Castiel was amused by the exchange more than anything and went along with Dean’s sad excuse for an escape plan. He couldn’t hear what he said with his angry mumbling, but it caused him to laugh a little. Once he deemed them far away from the shop, he stopped tugging, but he didn’t let go of his hand until they reached a little ice cream stand. It was painted red and made to look like a mini barn. Moo Shack was in full swing. There were at least 15 people waiting around for their cold treat. Dean led him over to a picnic table in that same shade of red.

“What kind of cone do you want? Or do you want a sundae?”

“I’ll just take a vanilla cone.”

With that Dean walked to get in line. Took him a while to conclude that Dean was buying him ice cream. That accompanied some confusing feelings. He didn’t like handouts. Though he’d been on his own, running from shadows and dangerous men most of life, Castiel still prided himself on being an independent person. Sure, it was just an ice cream, nothing to be alarmed about. Dean did know that he was pretty much living at the Inn, what if it got worse from there? What if he tried to buy him food or clothing? He couldn’t accept charity and refused to be pitied. He wasn’t the best off, but it could be worse, and unless it ever got there, he wouldn’t be accepting any help. Castiel had seen and lived in rock bottom, he could handle it on his own.

He was broken out of his musings when Dean walked over with his vanilla cone and an obscenely covered sundae for himself. There was an assortment of toppings on it that didn’t even match; gummies, fudge bits, caramel syrup, and little pieces of licorice all sticking out of the bowl haphazardly. Instead of sitting across from him, the man sat next to him, quite close at that. He dove into his dessert headfirst, barely surfacing for a breath, and licking the spoon in a very R-rated fashion. Castiel could hardly concentration on his own cone because he was captured by the sight of Dean’s explicit eating.

“Is there even ice cream in that bowl?” Castiel smirked.

When Dean lifted his head to respond there was a rim of vanilla ice cream all over his mouth. Heaven help him this man would be his demise.

“Of course there is.” He licked his lips. “Enjoying your cone?”

“Yes.” 

Castiel finally turned away so he could finish his rapidly melting delight and not get distracted by Dean. Once they were done discarding their trash they began their walk back towards the Inn. The other man had left his car at Missouri’s store, but he wanted to make sure Castiel got in alright first. It warmed him to hear that Dean was concerned for his wellbeing in his own way.

“So Cas,” he began fixing him with a serious face, “You got a number I can call you at?”

Before he gave it much thought he was pulling out his little burner phone and handing it to the gorgeous human in front of him. He watched as Dean happily put his number in, even sending himself a text before handing it back. They said their goodbyes with an accompanying hug. Castiel felt no shame watching Dean go through the glass doors. Dean had a phenomenal physique and he’d watch him for as long as he was allowed.

Turning to go to his room he noticed the new evening shift receptionist smirking at him before blowing a large, thick bubble of gum. He walked past her wordlessly, not wanting conversations to ruin the moment of glee.

Once he was alone, he made a point to order additional minutes on the phone, and wouldn’t even admit to himself he’d done it all for Dean.

* * * *

“Are you smiling?” were the first words out of his brother’s mouth as he opened his front door for him.

He stepped aside and watched as his brother lugged in a huge tote bag full of books. Could smell the age from where he was standing, the dust and must of ancient pages and old leather covers. It wasn’t the best scent, and he wasn’t looking forward to smelling that for the next few hours. Knowing Grandpa Henry though there were some air fresheners in the bottom of the bag since he felt the same way Dean did. With a muffled bang he plopped the bag on his kitchen table.

“Grandpa dropped this off at the house earlier today. He hadn’t gotten a chance to look through them yet. Said his eyes were tired.”

“Well it’s about time that old man takes a break. He does too much.”

“You know he’s still resisting retirement.”

“Yeah we’ll have to trick him into it somehow.” Dean chuckled reaching into the fridge for some beers.

“Hey, did you eat yet?” Sam turned towards him while he made neat piles of the books knowing that they would soon be ruined. “I could call the pizza place we tried last time.”

“Hell yeah Sammy. They did something to that pepperoni. It was better than I’ve ever had on a pizza.”

And so, it began, another session of eye tiring reading looking for something Dean wasn’t even sure if it actually existed. This wasn’t the first time and it surely wouldn’t be the last seeing as how his family, on both sides, had been looking for this map for a good 50 years.

A half hour later and the pizza arrived, it was officially break time. They cracked open a pair of beers, cheers to some good luck in their future. Nights like these were what Dean missed the most while his brother was off getting his fancy law degree. He was damn proud of all that he accomplished but he’d be a blue faced liar if he said he didn’t miss him.

“So you gonna share with the class?” Sam said throwing away his paper plate away.

“What?”

“Why were you smiling? You never answered me.”

“Aren’t we supposed to be researching?”

“Don’t switch topics. What’s going on with you?”

“Nothing.”

“Come on Dean. I’m the last person you need to lie to. Is it about Cas?”

Dean sighed. With his brothers guess being spot on he had no choice but to talk about this. Escaping an emotional talk with Sam was like trying to avoid looking at a train wreck. It’s horrible, but you can’t not watch.

“He showed up at the shop today and we went for ice cream.”

“See that wasn’t so hard.” To this Dean rolled his eyes and grabbed another slice of pizza.

“Yeah, yeah.”

“So you like him?”

Wha—you,” he sputtered, “I can’t like him Sam. First off he’s my charge. Secondly I hardly know the guy.”

“You can spin that bullshit for Mom and Dad but I’ve seen the way you look at him. You haven’t looked like that in a long time. Plus I catch you smiling? All the red flags are there Dean.”

“My first point still stands _Sam._ Look let’s just finish this up so we can report back to Gramps.”

* * * *

Castiel was surrounded by dense fog and nothing else. He walked aimlessly for what felt like hours, searching for a way out or a reason why. Either would do in this endless land of nothing. Everything was washed in gray tones, no actual light source but he could see what direction he was walking in. This was different than his normal visions, their setting always being the forest that his colony lived in. Something familiar to put him in a state of relaxation while he was shown an uneasy message. He sat down, somehow bogged down by exhaustion from all the walking. From the fog a figure began to appear. A dark silhouette in the shape of a woman, made of viscous blackness. He watched, not in fear, but in curiosity of what this figure would do. It just stood there; tendrils of its darkness floated around it. The head of it turned to his direction, just staring with no eyes until it spoke with no mouth, and clear as day in the voice of his mother:

“Castiel. Stay.”


	3. So much Effort

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey hey! A little boop of an addition. I'm happy about how this story is turning out so far. Still haven't figured out how to add art and dividers....but when I do it'll be nice. Anyways I hope you enjoy reading! xoxo

He walked in the lingering heat that the day had left behind. Like how being wrapped in a warm blanket after a hot shower are two different sensations. He'd rather the comforts of the evening. The sky above was slathered in oranges and blue hues. The sun was just beginning to set, still giving off its last hurrah. This was his favorite time of day. When the afternoon rush morphs into the evening cool-down. In this town where he'd received so much kindness, he walked without a care. No need to look over his shoulder or worry that every whip of the wind could be a warning to flee. He felt safe here. He had friends here. He had comfort here.

And that was the most dangerous thing of all.

Once he finished his shift at Missouri’s he went for his evening walk around the park before settling down to a fruitless nap. Though his legs were screaming from exhaustion he couldn’t seem to find rest. So that’s how he found himself on this second walk. Roaming around town and his mind roaming with it, he suddenly found himself in front of Dean’s job. When it dawned upon him where he was he tried to get away for fear of looking like some kind of clingy stalker, but it was too late. Jo, waved at him through the window of the office, and he waved back as he now had no choice but to go inside.

“Hello Jo.”

A bell jingled above the door signaling his entrance, he was grateful for the blast of cool air that whooshed towards him as he walked inside. Every place of business in this town seemed to have a bell. He guessed that was part of the small-town package, a gently reminder that someone was entering your building. She smiled and waved him over to the seats on the side.

“I’m assuming you’re here to see Dean.” She smiled like she found out his biggest secret.

“I—um sure.”

“I’ll get him for you.” She pressed a button on some device on her desk, Waiting until the phone ring she immediately answered it. “Dean, your heart throb is here to see you.” She winked at him then hung up the phone. 

He tried not to scowl; he really did. What troubled him was what she meant by heart throb. Was Dean discussing him at work? He’s never been the object of someone’s affection, not to his knowledge anyway. He wouldn’t know how to react to it if he did. Never staying somewhere long enough to form a connection with anyone was Castiel's norm. It wasn’t that he didn’t have physical needs or desires, he just didn’t want to take the chance of bedding the wrong person and end up in the clutches of those he ran from. Dean walked into the room scowling at Jo before finally seeing Castiel and a smile was on his face instantly.

“Hey Cas. What brings you all the way out here?”

“I was just um—going for a walk. Figured I’d stop by and say hello.”

Stopping by here actually hadn’t been his intention at all, but who was he to question where the universe took him. There were always bigger things afoot, one of his father’s lessons that stuck with him through all these years.

“Well that’s mighty nice of you. Brightened my day right up sunshine.”

Dean’s words brought about a warmth in him that he was not familiar with. The man was happy to see him, that was a sensation he hadn’t experienced in a long time. He stood so close, so very close that if Castiel swayed just a bit their chests would be touching. While from anyone else this would cause him stress, he felt fine with this beautiful man being so close to him.

“Are you doing anything for the rest of the night?”

“No not really.”

“Well I get off in a few, if you wanna wait we could head over to that diner by the Inn. Get some dinner. Have you eaten?”

When Castiel thought about it he actually hadn’t eaten since breakfast before work that morning. When he voiced that Dean scoffed and lectured him a bit about taking care of himself before he went to finish up his work. He promised to be only 15 minutes more so Castiel was left to sit in the lobby with Jo.

“So, you enjoying your stay so far?”

“Yes—it’s very nice here.”

“That’s good. I’ve lived here all my life like Dean. It’s a nice place to settle down.”

“I’m beginning to see that.” He smiled politely.

It was silent between the two of them for a while. It wasn’t that he didn’t like Jo or anything, he simply didn’t know her very well and never had been quick to take to people. Apart from the Winchester family of course. His mind was still running circles trying to figure out that one. Something about their energies just told them he was safe with them. Missouri as well, but he’d concluded that that had been due to her gifts, similar to those of his mother. He hadn’t sensed any psychic abilities or magick of any kind from the Winchesters, so for the time being there really was no explanation for it. Maybe if he took the time to get to know Jo he’d find that she was pleasant company, Dean seemed to keep those sorts of people around him. All playful banter and nonsensical humor.

“Hey, hey I’m free.” Dean burst through the door with a smile on his face. He was no longer in his coveralls just a simple t-shirt and jeans. “Sorry I took so long.”

“It’s fine. I’m ready when you are.”

He followed Dean out the door and over to a shining, black, classic car. It was beautiful from the outside, the last of the evening sun reflected off of the side nicely. Dean unlocked the car opening the passenger door for him and with a flick of his wrist prompting him to get inside. Once seated all he smelled was Dean. A nice earthy musky scent of oil, leather, and summer rain. As Dean himself got in the car it got even worse, he was dizzy with it.

Dinner at the diner was nice, the service was quick as it usually was and conversation between the two men flowed freely. Dean did most of the talking, Castiel had never been one with too many words. They shared light hearted stories of their past. Dean told an erroneous story about how he and Sam had stashed some of their plastic army men in the vents of the Impala so that they wouldn’t lose them, apparently you can still hear the little rattle whenever he ran the heat. Castiel had told his own tale about how he found an injured rat outside while playing and convinced his rodent fearing mother to let him keep it.

“Aw Cas your poor mom.” He’d said once he finished laughing. 

Once they were finished eating Dean ordered them two hefty slices of cherry pie. They argued a little bit over who would pay the bill. Castiel only gave in when Dean promised to let him get dinner next time. Overall, he’d had a nice time, and when he got to his room, he’d fallen asleep with a smile on his lips and thoughts of Dean that leaked into his dreams.

* * * *

He woke up in an amazing mood the next morning. The light and airy feeling in his head from last night followed him into today. Getting out of bed, showered and dressed was a breeze, even the temperamental coffee machine was in a good mood. Mary declined his offer for coffee since Dean had dropped her off some

“How’d your date go sugar?” Missouri said instead of a greeting as he walked into the shop.

“My—date?”

“Don’t try to hide the obvious Castiel. I can see it all over you. Went out with Dean last night didn’t you?”

“Yes I did. I don’t think it was a date though. He didn’t mention it being one.”

“Hmm. Well you’re glowing like you’ve had the best night of your life.” And with that she was off into her office.

Castiel was confused and deep in thought for the remainder of his shift. Had Dean taken him on a date, and he didn’t even know it? He’d never been on a date before. There wasn’t any room in his hectic existence for such frivolous activities. Hardly knowing how dating went outside of movies and shows he’d watched over the years, he decided to talk to Dean about it. Dates usually ended with kisses of sex, some sort of physical interaction that differentiated a date from two friends simply having dinner together. They did, however, talk about a lot of things that you would on a first date. They discussed family, funny things they’ve done over the years, weird things they’ve done in the past. Dean talked about his ex and how things went badly, Castiel has never had an ex so he couldn’t offer much on that topic. Yet these all could be things that you would discuss when getting to know a friend.

His mind dragged him in circles for quite a while. When Missouri came out of her office to give him his break, he took out his phone as soon as he was in the little makeshift breakroom. Setting on the couch with a sandwich Mary had brought him he began texting Dean. That was another thing he found odd about this whole thing. In the small amount of movies he’d watched over the years, meeting the parents of someone you’re dating was to be a fearful experience. It was done once the relationship was established and serious, and it normally was filled with dread and judgement. That was not how it went the other night at the Winchesters home. Sure he was nervous, but he quickly warmed up as the home and the people in it were warm themselves. No one judged him, no one questioned him harshly. Conversation flowed freely, and that’s what made him comfortable. He felt welcomed there.

Finally gathering the courage, and partly due to the time he’d finally sent the message.

You: Did we go on a date last night?

Dean was probably working, which meant he wouldn’t answer Castiel’s question quickly. He didn’t like playing the waiting game, but it was a game he lived and breathed by so he was accustomed to it. In silence he ate his sandwich and enjoyed the time away from the front of the store. He enjoyed his job plenty, but social interactions were exhausting for him.

Time was up. So, he returned to do the remainder of his shift, with thoughts of Dean rattling his mind.

* * * *

Castiel decided not to go for a walk tonight. He was too exhausted to put forth any more effort tonight. He’d gotten some tea bags and an electric kettle from the local grocery store, plus another book from Missouri. All tonight would consist of was tea and good reading in his warm bed. Oh and his phone of course. He’d gotten a text that he hadn’t had the chance to look at yet. See whenever he goes to a new town he gets a new burner. The only ones who had his current number were Missouri and Dean. Obviously she wouldn’t be texting him while he was already in the store so it had to be Dean responding to his question. The second his phone vibrated in his pocket he wanted to rip it out and finally get his answer, but he couldn’t, and now on his walk to the Inn he refused. He wanted to settle in first.

As soon as he got in his room, he ripped his clothes from him and took a long hot shower. This Inn by far was the nicest place he’d ever stayed, including that little sublet rental he’d had back in Chicago. The water pressure was nice, every day he had fresh sheets, all the appliances in the room worked. It was wonderful. Midway through him rinsing out his hair he’d heard the kettle start to blow. Quickly toweling off he walked into the room bare, and still dripping to make his tea. Dressed in ratty old sweatpants that belonged to his brother, and a secondhand sweater he settled with his travel mug and his book on the bed.

He glanced at his phone where it sat on the night stand. His tea was too hot to drink and his mind was too wound up to concentrate on reading. With a long sigh he dived into the inevitable and thumbed his phone to attention.

Dean: how about you give me a call when you can

So Dean wanted to speak to him. Well that was terrifying. Texting would be so much easier, he’d have time to really think out his responses. Talking on the phone required a set of conversation skills that he wasn’t equipped with right now. It would be much easier to just leave the text with no response, or he could tell Dean that he wasn’t in a place to talk on the phone. That was a bust though since Dean was aware that he got off at the same time each day. He didn’t want to leave Dean hanging, the man was obviously expecting a call. Offending him to save his nerves just didn’t seem worth it. It was now or never. He pressed the screen and held the phone to his ear while he held his breathe.

“Hey Cas.”

“Hello Dean.” He let go of that breathe.

“How was your day? I’m just getting off.”

“It was nice. Work was quite busy.”

“So what made you ask that question?”

“Well—Missouri made an observation, and I didn’t want to assume.”

Dean chuckled. “I would’ve taken you some place much nicer for a date Cas.”

What did that mean? Did Dean want to take him on a date? He was truly out of his depths here and it was taking everything in him

“Oh um alright.” He didn’t know what else to say.

“I do wanna take you out Cas. Just been waiting for the right time to ask you.” He paused. “Might as well ask you now since we’re on the topic.”

Oh my. This was the problem with talking on the phone. Dean expected an answer immediately. Before he could think any further about it, he’d agreed to it. This seemed to be happening a lot lately.

“Awesome. How does Saturday night work for you?”

“That’s perfect.” He smiled.

“It’s a date.”

* * * *

Of course, now that Castiel had plans, time seemed to get away from him. Each time the sun rose it was felt like such a short time before it was setting. He’d wake up with a good morning text from Dean each morning. Getting ready for work, and once he started his shift it seemed over before he knew it. He’d discreetly look at his phone when the rush of customers died down, hoping to see another message from Dean. The man used a lot of emoticons, whether it was smiley faces or kissing faces, there was always something. Even if it didn’t contain any emoticons, every message made Castiel smile. Dean asked a lot of questions, not in a prying way at all. Whenever a question was asked that Castiel didn’t feel comfortable answering, Dean never pressed him, he simply moved onto the next one.

Friday was when it all changed. Dean had asked for a picture. Well he actually said was selfie, but Castiel came to the conclusion that he was asking for a picture of himself. That had been stressful, he’d never done this before. He’d taken pictures of course, during his travels, but never was he included in those pictures. He’d only taken ones of animals or landscape, back when he still had his camera. He’d even splurged and gotten them printed. The camera had belonged to his brother and he was more than heartbroken when it was stolen. They didn’t talk about his family much, but he thought it would help to explain his lack of selfies so he told Dean as much. To help him be more comfortable with the idea Dean sent pictures of his own. Those caused him to gasp in surprise, Dean was uniquely beautiful. The light in front of him hit his eyes just right, you could see the little flicks of gold, the subtle lines by his eyes as he smiled, his perfect lips stretched in a grin. It was breathtaking, and made him miss his camera even more. He’d love to capture Dean on film, print the pictures and keep them forever.

Dean’s pictures had given him the courage to send some of his own. He decided on taking them in the bathroom since the lighting was much better. He angled the camera to capture his face and neck, like Dean had done. After several attempts he scrolled back and forth between the photos to decide on one good enough to send back. He didn’t have a fancy smart phone like Dean, but he made due with what he had. With a deep breathe he sent it off, waiting impatiently for Dean’s reply.

Dean: God you’re gorgeous

Well that was an unexpected response. He thought he’d get something along the lines of a good job, or a ‘nice picture’. The compliment wormed its way behind his ribcage and warmed him from the inside out.

You: Thank you Dean

Dean: You excited for tomorrow? I was thinking I could get you at like 7?

You: That’s fine with me. And yes

Castiel was also a nervous wreck, but he wasn’t about to share that with Dean. He’d looked up some tips on the internet hoping to gain some knowledge on what to expect for a first date. He’d never been on a date before. All he found was that society had terribly rigid expectations for women and the argument of whether it was acceptable to have sex after said date. It was all overwhelming, and the little bit of advice they did have for men pertained to a man going out with a woman. That wouldn’t help him in the slightest. Dean was picking him up so it wouldn’t make sense to get him flowers, he couldn’t open the car door for him either. Maybe he’d be able to open the door to whatever restaurant they were going to.

He laid in bed that night trying to get the sleep his body so desired, but he couldn’t get his mind to shut off. Would Dean be expecting sex on the first date? He was definitely not ready for interactions like that. He’d never been a particularly sexual person, never having done anything with another person. Not that the opportunity never presented itself, he’d been offered on several occasions. It was the vulnerability of being with another person, only to never see them again that made him wary about sex. On the case of Dean, the man was truly gorgeous and set a fire within him like no one had ever dared to before, but they hardly knew one another. Plus there was the factor of him not being able to settle here. Before he walked down that wallowing road he pulled up Dean’s selfie and stared at it until his eyes finally closed.


	4. With or Without

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! Another chapter this week. This is probably one of my favorite chapters so I hope you enjoy it as well. So much fluff for this one. Happy reading!

Saturday morning—well once he’d looked at his phone it was actually the afternoon. Castiel hadn’t slept that long in a very long time. Again he was reminded that he was getting comfortable here. No dreams had plagued him, no visions of the past, or warnings of the future. He’d just slept. As he rose from his bed to start his morning tea and get ready for the day he realized how good he felt. To just rise with a light heart and empty mind, it was invigorating. He wondered if this was a normal occurrence for the average person, to just awaken every morning in such a lazy fashion. He didn’t have to work, he didn’t need to run from anything. This ease was something he could get used to, even if it wasn’t the best course of action.

Finally dressed in some gym clothes he sat down to tie his new running shoes on and decided it was a good time to check his phone. Emotions beyond glad overcame him as he glanced at the messages he’d received from Dean. It was a picture of the sunrise, all the beautiful warm hues, and the moon’s lingering image. It looked like a painting on Dean’s fancy smart phone and Castiel immediately saved the image to his own photos. Under it the caption read: Ain’t this a pretty country sunrise? Wish you were here to see it with me. For someone who claimed they weren’t good with words, Dean always managed to say the most genuine things to him. A small smile crept onto his face as he thought of what to say back. Their date was tonight and he was equal parts terrified and excited. His biggest hope was that he didn’t make a fool of himself. It was a small comfort that the man seemed highly understanding of his horrid people skills and lack of pop culture knowledge. With that in mind he replied: Looking forward to seeing the sunset with you tonight.

He went out for his jog, leaving his phone in the room and only taking his keys with him. He was grateful for the Inn being of a much older style and having physical keys instead of the cards you could easily lose. He slid it in his sock and didn’t have to worry about it for the duration of his exercise. The weather was nice for it being so early in the day. It was just starting to heat up slowly as he passed by the diner on his way back to the Inn. It would be hot today, no doubt so he needed to get his weekly errands done for the day.

As he entered the front door of the inn, the chimes above it alerted the person sitting at the front desk of a possible new patron. Mary turned to him with her winning customer service smile that instantly slackened to the softer smile she reserved for friends and family. He had two coffees in hand as per usual and offered her one cup with his own soft smile.

“Good morning Cas.”

That was new. She’d always called him by his full name, but it was safe to assume that she’d now use the nickname seeing as how he was getting close to her son and had been to her house. It was nice that she was comfortable enough with him to use the nickname Dean had given him. On the flip side it was terrifying that he was laxed enough to let things like nicknames be formed in the first place. He wondered if Mary had any clue as to what would take place that evening. His mother had always warned him that people outside of their colony sometimes took issues to certain types of attractions. He didn’t know if Dean’s family was aware that he had an attraction to men, so he thought it best to not mention it at all. His family and the rest of the colony weren’t fickle about those things. Not every kind of bond needed to result in procreation, if you loved some one enough to want to be with them then you did just that. His brother Uriel had a husband and a wife, they were just as happy together as anyone else.

“Good morning Mary. How are you today?”

“Doing alright. A little stressed about this upcoming season.”

“Summer gives you stress?” he asked entirely confused about how the warm weather could give this woman such worry.

“Well with the summer comes tourist season. People from all over will be coming for vacation and they’ll need a home away from home.”

“So more patrons will be staying here.” He surmised. “I could see how that would be a lot for the staff.”

“That’s kind of what I wanted to talk to you about Cas.” She took her lower lip between her teeth in a sign of nervousness. It was eerie to see so much of Dean in his mother. “See with all the tourists we’re gonna need all the rooms we’ve got. We don’t often get people staying full time.”

Ah, so he was being asked to leave.

“Now before you get all bent out of shape, I’m not kicking you out. I’m merely making a suggestion.” She paused to take a sip of her drink. “Above Missouri’s shop, there’s an apartment space that no one’s renting out. It’s not the lap of luxury, but it’s got all you’ll need. It’s partially furnished too! Just some little odds and ends you’ll have to buy to make the space yours.”

“Why is no one renting it?”

“Well the guy she had there up until last week was a fellow named Garth, real happy guy. He just got married and him and his wife just brought a house across town.”

“Wow I had no idea anyone was living up there.”

“Building is old, but it’s got good bones, as my husband would say. You can’t hear anything happening in the shop and vice versa.”

“Do you think Missouri would want to rent it to me? She hasn’t even mentioned it.”

“Well that’s cause you’re living here.” She giggled. “You’re the only one I’m telling about this, so you won’t have any competition for the space. I’m sure you’ll want to live off of something else besides microwave dinners. You’ll have a kitchen, and a living room to entertain friends.”

Friends, Castiel didn’t have any of those, well besides Dean. He wouldn’t mind inviting Dean over and making him dinner. Lounging around on some type of couch, they could invite Sam as well, and watch all of those movies Dean believes is imperative that he sees. While wishful images passed through his mind’s eye, he had to think on a more logical level about all of this.

“I don’t think I could afford an apartment. Even if it is somewhat furnished.”

Mary sighed at this and he could tell she was refraining an eye roll. “Talk to Missouri about it before you make a decision on that.”

“Alright well thank you for telling me about this Mary. I should be going if I want to make it to the grocery store before it gets too hot.”

“Don’t let me keep you then. And have fun on your date tonight.” She winked at him before returning to her work.

* * * *

Castiel, utterly distracted went through his Saturday routine without his head truly in it. He’d saw Mary one more time as he was leaving for the store, when of course she smiled knowingly at him, and by the time he got back the other receptionist, Meg was there. As usual she’s blowing an obscene amount of gum and making sure the bubbles pop at maximum volume. She’s nice enough and always greets him, but she’s snarky and sarcastic so he can only be around her for so long.

“How’s it hanging Clarence?”

“Fine how are you?”

“Eh.” Is her simple reply before she returns to the monitor in front of her.

He walks off back to his room thinking about what Mary offered him. It’s terrifying to think about it, but his gut is telling him Missouri will want to talk about it Monday and he’ll have no choice but to give her an answer. On one hand having his own space would be amazing. He’s missed cooking and having more than a bed and a bathroom. Mary was right, he’d love to entertain the people in his life, not just Dean but the whole Winchester clan. To return the lovely dinner they gave to him.

On the other hand though he is terrified. He’s been able to stay some places longer than others, but he’s never made a connection with the people around him like he has with those here. He’s never had friends, let alone a date. Not wanting that think about what might happen he curled up in his bed with a book he’d borrowed from the library. They had an extensive collection of supernatural literature here. Much more then he’s encountered in even the biggest of cities. In the middle of a chapter about djinn he dozed off.

* * * *

_He opened his eyes and he was back in that place. Unlike last time he didn’t try to find his way. He just sat there with his elbow rested on his crossed legs, and his head in his hands. Wherever this was and whoever wanted to speak to him, would have to come and find him. He watched the fog move around him even though this place had no wind. He was on some kind of metaphysical plane, so he wasn’t even sure if there was any air. Sitting there he wondered about the being he’d seen last time. Would it be the same entity or would it be something else. All the books he’d gotten from the library and nothing was in them about a being like this. Sure there were plenty beings with no face that could talk, but nothing like that dark viscous, almost oil like form. And it had the shape of a woman, that struck him as odd. Though he was knowledgeable enough about the things beyond his realm to know that things like gender were a creation of humans, it was just strange and startling that it’s voice was that of his mother._

_Of course, when he’s lost in thought the being appears. He scurries to get away from it, though he does not sense any negative energy from it. It is still looked the same in its dark features, but now it takes the form of a man. It has a face now and that face is eerily familiar._

_“Castiel. Do not fear what does not bring you harm.”_

_It was taking the form and voice of his father._

_“W-what are you?”_

_“I have many names and as many forms. I am empty. I am nothing. I am everything.”_

_“Where are we?”_

_“A plane of existence you will never occupy.”_

_“What do you want from me?”_

_“Humans and your many questions.” Gosh he even sounded like his father. “I am here to deliver a message. You will not leave the place you currently inhabit. The end of the line is there. You are safe.”_

_He felt a strong vibrating sensation in his chest. Shocking as it was he couldn’t take his eyes or his concentration off of the being in front of him. It stopped for a moment before immediately starting up again. What was this feeling?_

_“You must go now. I may call for you again…or I may not.”_

_And with that he woke up._

* * * *

“Dean.” He sighed as he realized the vibrating, he’d felt was his phone sitting on his chest.

“I’m outside. You ready to hit it?”

Holy mother of all! He’d fallen asleep and forgot to set his alarm. Rushing out of bed to look for his clothes he realized he hadn’t set any out for their date tonight!

“Um—I’m—I need a minute.” he stammered in a panic.

“You need me to come inside?”

“No!” he shouted. “No I’ll just be a minute.” he said in a softer tone.

While his room wasn’t in particular bad shape, he didn’t want to inconvenience Dean by making him park his car and walk all the way over here. It was his own fault that he was late, and he felt bad enough about it without adding to it. He hung up the phone and did much more flailing than actually finding something to wear. He had no idea where they were going so, he didn’t know if he should be formal or not.

“Yes!” he exclaimed.

He’d already ironed his clothes for work on Monday. They weren’t too dressy and not too casual. Dean didn’t seem like a formal date kind of guy. Without another thought he flung the button up and slim fitted jeans on his body with his sneakers and a cardigan before he grabbed his keys, wallet, and phone, flinging himself out the door. Running towards the now familiar black car, he opened the door gingerly fixing Dean with a nervous smile.

“So sorry I’m late. I fell asleep and forgot an alarm—I didn’t know what to wear.”

“Woah, woah pump the brakes there Cas. It’s fine. It happens.” He smiled.

“I really am sorry.” He said as he looked at how the man was dressed. He wore a denim, navy button up with some well-loved jeans and some combat books. He looked amazing, and Castiel voiced as much.

“Thanks Cas. You look good yourself.” He took his time looking Castiel up and down, not trying to hide his interest at all, much like that first night. 

Dean pulled away from the Inn and began their journey. The drive time was filled with comfortable conversation and silence. Again, Dean did much of the talking, but as Castiel was growing comfortable with this man, so he tried to put his best foot forward. They talked mainly about their past, Dean asking Castiel what his first crush was like after he had told him about his. Dean’s was a silly story about tripping and falling every time this same girl so much as looked at him. Castiel talked about a boy in his learning group that he was fond of.

“He’d always say he liked my eyes every time I saw him.” he began. “My parents were pretty open with their affections with each other while I was growing up. They taught us that you showed the care you had for others in words as well as actions. One day as we were playing in the fields I took him behind a tree and kissed him. Neither of us knew what we were doing of course, but as we separated he told me I had the most magical lips in the world. Being that I was a child I had no idea what that meant since I never did magic with my lips.” He chuckled.

“Well I’ll just have to test that theory for myself.” He smirked.

“Was that a flirtation Dean?”

He let out a melodious, full-body laugh, tapping the steering wheel with the palm of his hand. Castiel couldn’t figure out for the life of him what on earth could’ve been so funny, but he enjoyed that his words could bring such a dazzling smile to the other man’s face.

“You haven’t answered my question Dean.”

“Yeah man, I guess it was.”

“Well if you play your cards right then maybe I’ll let you run your tests.”

Dean gulped at that and seemed to be at a loss for words. Two can play that game.

Upon arrival to the mysterious destination Dean’s face seemed to be stuck in a permanent grin. Castiel peered out of the window trying to find out what this place was. Moondoor: restaurant and bookstore, the large sign read.

“Dean, what is this place you’ve brought me too?” he got out the car in a rush walking towards the double doors ahead of him.

“Woah there speedy let’s take a second ok. This is a place owned by my best friend in the whole world, outside of Sam of course. They have burgers to rival the Roadhouse. Can’t top my own of course, but a close second.” He winked.

“I was unaware that there was a bookstore so close by, let alone one that serves food.”

While Castiel enjoyed the library a great deal, he didn’t like that he had to return the books. He was a fast reader, but he liked to take his time while diving into a good story. This particular library had such a short and stringent return policy. Though he didn’t have many he’d made sure that the books he really fell for remained in his small collection. With a bookstore so close by he’d need a bookshelf. A bookshelf for his apartment. The chance at giving into to the hope and optimism that kept burrowing itself inside him, was as tempting as ever. He wanted to believe the spirit that visited him. Even though its appearance was quite startling he felt no malice from the being. The question at this point was should he put stock in what it said. If it was true, he wouldn’t mind settling in Lawrence.

“Let’s go inside. I already got a table reserved for us.”

He followed Dean inside and observed as he talked to the host about their reservation and were soon led to a booth in the corner. From his seat he could see the whole place. The building was split in half. Restaurant on one side and bookstore on the other. They even had a coffee bar on the book side. Tables where people were setup with laptops and chatting with friends. Even with the food side the overall volume of the place wasn’t very loud. He could see himself coming here often.

After a waitress came and took their orders Castiel decided now was the time to start conversation. Gathering his nerves and storing them in a little box, never to be looked at again, he took the final plunge.

“Dean I have something to discuss with you.”

Green eyes snapped to immediate attention. His brother Gabriel always use to say he had a 'staring problem' and this must be what it feels like to be on the receiving end of it.

“What’s up sunshine?”

“So, I talked to your mother today, as I do every day.” He noticed a tenseness in Dean’s normally relaxed posture. “She informed me that Missouri had an opening for an apartment above her store. I’m thinking of renting it out.”

He watched as the man sighed in a relief, the air leaving him so quickly he felt it tickle his own nose. That relief morphed into pure and unbridled joy. He’d never seen such a bright expression on anyone’s face in such a long time, let alone it being aimed at him.

“You’re staying.” He sighed with happiness.

“Well I actually wanted your opinion and—advice on this. See I’ve never moved anywhere—permanently, so I’m not sure what I should have.”

See the few places he’d stayed outside of shady motels were sublets, a month or two here and there, where an actual tenant was away. These places already had all of the things one would require for daily living. He’s never brought furniture or picked out dishes. These were typical adult things that he’d never needed to do. The desire was always there, to stay in one place to call home, but the means weren’t. in a town such as this, that had people like Dean, he could very well call this home.

If it was possible, which he didn’t think it was, Dean got even more excited with this embarrassing admission. The colors of his aura swirled with a brightness he’d ever seen come from the man. His hands jetted out where they sat on the table and grasping Castiel's own.

“Cas we’ll find everything you need. And it won’t even cost that much.” He began searching frantically for the waitress. Once he spotted her he waved her over. “Hey can I get a pen and paper?”

The woman seemed stunned for a moment before she fled to get him what he asked for. With a smile like that Dean could’ve asked for anything and people would start wars fighting to give it to him. When she returned he thanked her and the woman blushed before fleeing again to get their food.

“So what do you know about this apartment?”

“From what Mary told me it’s fairly small, one bedroom with a living room bathroom, and kitchen.”

“Ok so that’s a standard set up. What do you think you’d want to be able to do in it?”

“Well Mary did say it had a living room big enough for me to entertain guests.”

“So it’s furnished?”

“That’s the word she used yes. I’m assuming that means it has furniture.”

“Probably has some stuff but things like a mattress you don’t wanna use from the previous owner.” He began scribbling words. “Also if the couch sucks you wanna replace it.”

“I’d like a bookshelf.”

“We can get you that too.” He continued writing things down.

“I’d like a quality coffee maker. The one at the inn is fine, but a better one would be nice.”

“Well that’s downright essential.”

And the majority of their date went just like that. Ideas floating back and forth until they had a solid plan for this move. Dean let his intentions be known. He would be with Castiel through every step and answer any questions he had. It was comforting to know that he wouldn’t be alone in this. He’d been alone for so long it felt amazing to have someone by his side for something.

Once they finished their list and food Dean paid their tab and they went to peruse the book section of the building. Castiel was brimming with the same excitement as Dean. He looked through all the shelves in every section, not at all surprised about how much supernatural lore they had. Seemed to be a running theme in this small town. He thumbed through a few of them but was quickly deterred by the price. They’d have to be purchased in time seeing as how all his money would now go into this apartment. Dean looked at a few books himself, showing Castiel all his favorites. At some point he disappeared only to return with a bag in hand.

“How’d you like it?” he asked as they were leaving.

“I loved it. I intend to return here many times. Did you get to speak with your friend?”

“Oh no.” he laughed. “I made sure to come on a night she wasn’t working.”

“Um—alright.”

“Cas, not because of you man. Because she’s a lot and I don’t wanna just unleash her on you.”

“She is—intense?”

“That’s one word for it.”

“I have been told quite a few times that I am intense as well.”

“Yeah in like a 'holy hell he’s drop dead sexy' kind of intense. She’s more on the ‘please put this girl to sleep’ kind of intense at first, but once you get use to her you’ll be really happy she’s in your life.”

“Dean.”

He didn’t know what to reply to that so he didn’t. Dean just called him sexy. What did he do with that? Of course he could return the sentiment, but he didn’t have the way with words like Dean did. He just said how he felt in the plainest way possible.

“I find you immensely attractive as well Dean.”

He gave his thanks with that blinding smile and bright swirling colors in his aura.

888888

They arrived at the inn all too quickly. Castiel didn’t want the night to be over. He wanted to be around Dean and all the spice and flavor he brought to Castiel’s very dull and tense life.

“Well I had an amazing time Dean.”

“I’m happy you did. Whenever you wanna go back just let me know and we can.”

Castiel knew that it was customary to end a date with a kiss so he leaned into the man’s space to do just that. Those full lips found their way into many of his thoughts since he’d first seen Dean. He wasn’t sure where all this confidence came from, probably the ease that Dean carried himself with was rubbing off on him. As their lips met it took a second for Dean to get on board with the program but when he did it was glorious. His plush lips were warm and slid against his with ease. This was far better than his first kiss. Dean was practiced and not nervous at all. He coaxed his lips open with his tongue and when they met, well that changed everything. A soft, long moan filled the car and it took a moment for Castiel to realize it was his own voice. A heat bloomed within him that he never knew before. Dean must’ve felt it too because his kisses grew deeper and more forceful. It was such an honest, raw sense of bliss. As Dean pulled away, he tried to chase his lips to keep that feeling.

“Why’d you stop?” He said slowly opening his eyes.

“As much as I loved that kiss, and trust me I did, I didn’t want it to go further than that.”

“What do you mean?”

“Cas you’re an amazing kisser trust me, but you’re the first person I’ve actually dated in a while and I don’t wanna mess this up by moving too fast. I wanna do this right.”

“So this is not a rejection?”

“No sweetheart.” Dean’s calloused hand reached out to cup the side of his face. “Far from it. Totally opposite direction.”

“Will we be going on another date Dean?”

“You wanna go on another one? Yeah of course we can.” He chuckled, his cheeks getting pinker.

“I will talk to Missouri about the apartment Monday and hopefully I can move in soon.”

“That’s awesome Cas. Go on and get inside you irresistible thing.” He chuckled, playfully pushing Castiel’s shoulder.

He got out of Dean’s beautiful car before he took more kisses from this beautiful man. With a wave and a tender smile they bid each other good night.

* * * *

Missouri was over the moon about Castiel wanting the apartment. She laughed and clapped and wrapped him up in warm arms. She’d told him that he could move in in two weeks since she was going to have it professionally cleaned before he could. To himself he wondered if this was a traditional reaction to gaining a place to live. None of his previous landlords were this joyous about him moving in. A great deal of them seemed a little eerie about handing him the keys. Again he was reminded how much different this place was compared to everywhere else he’d been. He felt the hope creep up on him again. Working itself behind his rib cage and wrapping him in gentle tendrils. He couldn’t see his own aura, but he had no doubts that his colors were bright.

Throughout those two weeks his mood got brighter and broader, of course with the help of Dean making time to talk to him in such great lengths. They texted very often, mostly all day. In addition to that he would sometimes drop by the shop to visit him. By Friday afternoon he had all the paperwork squared away with Missouri and was the new tenant of the apartment upstairs. He felt the thrumming energy of excitement when she handed him the keys and sent him on his way to check it out.

It was small and cozy just as Mary described it. The living room had eggshell white walls and dark wooden floors throughout the apartment. The kitchen was on the smaller side but he was happy with it. A little island and the countertops were the same color as the walls, and the cabinets were in a slighter lighter wood than the floors. It already had the standard appliances which was incredibly nice. Whoever Missouri got to clean the place was a hygienic genius. The air was light and clean smelling, not a speck of dust to be found anywhere. The bathroom was probably his favorite room there. The clawfoot tub was on the larger side, an adjustable and detachable shower head, and there was ample amount of storage space. Overall, he was very happy about the apartment and couldn’t wait to move in. He had decided what he wanted Dean and his next date to be. He wanted to invite the man over and cook dinner for him.

Friday afternoon brought that vicious nervousness that he got every time he and Dean were getting together. The seed of attraction was long planted between the two of them and it was certainly growing with every kiss shared. It was equal parts lovely and terrifying. All new territory was the ground he walked on now. They were supposed to meet up after Dean got out of work to do some furniture shopping. He hadn’t decided what kind of look to go for, despite Dean’s heavy amount of suggestion. He’d never had options like this. Never knew he could have options. With the sad thought of possibly leaving always scratching at his thoughts he still tried to be optimistic. The only thing he decided in terms of decoration was he wanted his bedroom to be in earth tones.

He waited in the lobby for Dean and talked to Mary about his plans. Every one he talked to about this apartment was ecstatic about it. It was surprising that so many people (to him 3 was a lot of people) wanted him to have a solid place to stay.

“Hey Ma.” Dean greeted Mary as he walked in.

He was outfitted in a simple t-shirt and jeans, with his usual boots. Castiel felt a little over dress in his button up and cardigan, but he was pretty sure that Dean wouldn’t mind.

“Hello Dean.” He smiled.

“Heya Cas. How are you?” he went in for a hug.

“I’m doing well Dean.” He smiled, happy to be embraced in such bright colors.

“Awesome, let’s get this show on the road.”

The apartment had a pretty nice couch and bedframe already in there so he wouldn’t have to buy those. The goal for the day was to get a mattress, a table set for the kitchen, and a dresser for his room. If there was enough time they would get all the utensils and small appliances for the kitchen. He didn’t want to spend too much money since he got paid on a weekly basis.

The first place they hit was the mattress store. Dean was quite adamant and persuasive about getting a memory foam verses a traditional spring one. He ended up discovering that Dean was quite the negotiator and ended up getting them the floor model for cheap and getting free same day delivery. It probably helped that the salesman seemed to be quite taken with Dean. Castiel found he didn’t quite like that, he wasn’t angry per say, this was something different entirely. The man kept batting his eye lashes and standing far too close to be considered professional. Dean’s behavior remained the same so either he didn’t notice or chose to ignore it. He wanted to take Dean and throw him over his shoulder, walk right out the store without buying a thing. He decided, however, that that wouldn’t be acceptable behavior and it would be better to just let Dean do all the talking.

Next, they went to a second hand shop that was quite far away for his dresser. They could have gotten it from the same place they got the mattress, but Dean had assured him that the place across town had much better stuff. The store itself was obviously family run, none of the bright and overfriendly branding that you would find in a chain store. This place belonged to someone, loved by someone. He found that Dean was right, this place was much better. He’d found much more than he came in there for including his kitchen set, and some décor for the living room. All that was left to get was the bookcase, which he didn’t find one that he liked. They’d spent so much time at the second hand shop that the sun was setting. Since Castiel was now the permanent resident of the apartment now, he had the keys so he could start moving when he wanted to. Dean helped him get the furniture in, that was a feat all in itself. Hard to move things upstairs that were just a hair too narrow. He also helped him setup all the stuff they got for the kitchen all put away. He took the reins on this one and Dean just did as he asked. 

When they finished the both of them were hungry and exhausted so Dean ended up ordering two pizzas, and left to get a pack of beer. Castiel himself wasn’t much of an alcohol drinker, but celebrations were in order.

“Alright Cas.” Dean said as he walked back into the apartment. “We did real good today.”

“Yes we got a lot more than I thought and I spent far less money than I assumed I would.”

“Now you’ve gotta get a TV, we still gotta get that arm chair.” He brought the pizzas to the kitchen and set them on his brand new kitchen table.

Dean moved through his kitchen with ease. Sure he helped put everything away so it wasn’t like he didn’t know where things were, but it had a pleasant air of domesticity that Castiel enjoyed. They sat in the plush second hand chairs and ate in contented silence. He found himself watching Dean more than eating. The other man didn’t have the best table manners, but he ate with a passion. Castiel had come to the realization that Dean did most things with passion. When he set forth to do something he followed it through, trying his best to do well for others. It was a quality that he admired in him, what draws him to him. Currently his aura was shiny and bright, yellows, pinks, and blues all twirled around one another. It was beautiful to watch.

“I got something in my teeth dude?” he chuckled, finally noticing Castiel’s staring.

“No not at all.”

“What’s with the laser beam eyes?”

Castiel knew what he wanted, he wasn’t a naïve child. He was merely scared for what this could mean for his future. What he would be risking by actually staying here. Should have known when he set his eyes on the gorgeous man in the bar those several weeks ago, he was a goner since then. He’s risking a lot to be here, regardless of what that spirit told him. The more he gets to know Dean, and the wonderful people that surround him—they give his decision so much weight. Maybe this will all be worth it.


	5. The House is Warm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Greetings with another chapter! No warnings or anything with this one. Just happy happenings. Hope you enjoy xoxo

Why can't he simply say no to these people!? It was immensely frustrating that he keeps putting himself in these nerve wrecking situations. Yes he's much less nervous than he was last time, but they're still there, fluttering in his stomach, and making him quite a mess. Mary decided that it was time for Castiel to come over for dinner again. She made a giant supply of stir fry and it was imperative that he try it. It was a recipe that she'd found online, and she seemed pretty sure that he'd enjoy it.

Although last time went well, he hoped he wouldn’t be asked anymore uncomfortable questions. He was far more comfortable with Dean than anyone, and even he hadn’t asked the questions that had to be burning it everyone else’s mind. He didn’t want to talk about where he was from, or why he was roaming the country, and he definitely didn’t want anyone to ask about his abilities. The last one was probably the easiest one to avoid since it seemed that the Winchester family were impervious to his gift.

That inevitably led to thoughts about his family and he really didn’t want to go down that road. Thankfully, Dean texted him to let him know he was outside and that was enough to distract him. He walked out of the Inn and right to Dean’s car. It had been two weeks since they got the first round of stuff for his apartment. The plan was to have dinner tonight and finish getting all the stuff tomorrow. Then by Sunday he’d be officially moved in.

“So, do you want to have a little housewarming or something?” Dean asked when they pulled into the driveway of his parent’s house.

“House… warming? The temperature in the apartment was fine to me.” he peered at Dean in utter confusion.

Dean let out an all-around belly laugh at that. It was so loud and went on for so long that it would make him pretty annoyed if the other man didn’t look so gorgeous while he lit up like that. Concluding that Dean was clearly laughing at him and not with him, he lightly smacked him on the arm in chastisement.

“Sorry, sorry.” He wheezed. “You just looked so genuinely confused and it was,” he laughed a little more, “Just the most adorable thing ever.”

“Are you going to explain why what I said was so funny?” he definitely wasn’t pouting.

“A housewarming is like a celebration, for you getting a new place to live. People bring you gifts, and you eat and hangout until you’re tired of the company.”

“We had something similar, called a union blessing. Everyone got together and we had a feast to celebrate the new inhabitants and thank the—well I suppose it was simply well wishes.”

He didn’t know what possessed him to share that information with Dean, and he caught himself at the last second. It was hard not too when the man’s face was so honest and non-judgmental about every word that leaked out of his mouth.

“That sounds pretty cool Cas.” He smiled.

“It was mainly for new couples, but either way it was an enjoyable time.”

“Well I hope our traditions can blend together, if it’s ok that we celebrate even though you aren’t getting married.”

“I wouldn’t even know who to invite Dean.”

“You could—, “

A knock on the driver side window caused them both to flinch as if a shot went off. Both turning to find Sam standing there with an amused smirk on his face. They got out of the car looking like children caught with desserts before dinner.

“You guys have been out here for 15 minutes Dean.”

“Shut your bitch ass up. We were talking.” He grabbed Sam in a headlock.

“Let me go jerk!” Sam wiggled in the hold and got free.

“Boys! I’m sure Castiel is as hungry as all of us are. Cut the roughhousing and get in here!” Mary shouted from the door.

“Sorry Mom!” they replied in unison.

This dinner went much better than the last had. No more awkward questions, The Winchesters did their best to include him in all the conversation. Mary was correct, he did like the stir fry. It a mixture of vegetables and clumps of meat, it was well seasoned with a subtle spice in it. She even gave him some to take home. He decided that he liked Dean’s family, they were kind people, even John who was a little rough around the edges.

Dean and Sam were in the kitchen washing the dishes, so he was left in the living room with their parents. For the most part it was fine, Mary and John talked amongst themselves, he didn’t want to listen in and be rude.

“So Castiel.” John started, clearing his throat. “How are you enjoying Lawrence so far?”

“I’m enjoying my stay.”

“Did Missouri tell you—“

“John!” Mary slapped his arm and hissed. “She didn’t tell him yet!”

“Tell me…what?”

“Way to ruin the surprise.” She rolled her eyes at her husband.

“I didn’t know she didn’t do it yet.” He snickered. “Just pretend I didn’t say anything Castiel.”

Now he was utterly confused, but he didn’t have enough time to get upset because Dean walked into the room with that blinding smile of his.

“Y’all in here torturing my friend?”

“Don’t be dramatic Dean.”

“Your _friend_ Dean?” Sam piped in.

“Alright, alright we’re done with that.” he hit Sam upside the head. “We’re gonna head out before you ruin my friendship.”

* * * *

Before Dean went to work the following day, he’d taken Castiel to the grocery store, to load his refrigerator. He wanted to be there to help him officially move in, but it wasn’t necessary since he didn’t have too many belongings. The shopping itself went smoothly since Castiel didn’t think he needed too much stuff.

“Did you give the housewarming some thought?”

“I did. I wouldn’t know who to invite.” He said grabbing a gallon of milk. “You of course, and your family, Missouri.”

“There’s quite a few people right there. You’re acting like you don’t have friends.”

“You’re talking as if I do.”

“Cas.” He stopped walking, holding onto his bicep. “You gotta know we care right?”

“I'm sorry, I didn’t mean to make it sound like I don’t.” he sighed, surrendering under Dean’s sincere gaze. “I’ll pick a day and let everyone one know.”

“With your union blessing, does the couple usually plan it?”

“Normally it’s the family that does it.”

“Then you pick a day and leave everything to us.”

* * * *

The night air hit him as soon as he stepped outside. It was much chillier than it should have been considering how hot it was throughout the day. He ran back in to grab his corduroy jacket to battle against it. Before the end of the workday, Missouri had approached him asking if he could come by her house for a talk after closing. At first, he didn’t think anything of it, but as he was getting ready he realized he was being invited to his boss’ house. She is good friends with Mary and part of the Winchester clan, but it still felt odd going there. It was another quirk that made this town so different from the others. It was a bit of a walk away, and though she did offer him a ride, he’d declined. The night was nice enough, the sky so clear you could actually see the moon and stars. This was the kind of night he’d missed when he lived in large cities. All the air pollution and general chaos of the night life starting up made nights like these impossible. There was something so pure about a cloudless sky. He took comfort in the mostly quiet surroundings. Outside of the Roadhouse and that awful club the next town over there wasn’t much in the way of pubs and clubs.

Missouri’s house was at the end of a dead-end road. You could see, even in the dark that her yard was well kept and he imagined that the rest of her space would be the same. Her house looked closer to a cottage than the other houses that surrounded it. As he approached the front door, he saw that instead of a doorbell there was a bird-shaped metal door hanger. Pulling it back he let it bang three times and waited for her to answer.

“Castiel, come in out of that cold.” She opened the door and immediately ushered him in. “I told you I could’ve given you a ride.”

“It’s alright. I enjoyed the walk and the temperature is fine.”

“Yes, I know it’s important to you to connect with nature. Now come sit, I’ve got the hibiscus tea already brewing.”

She led him to a very warm and cozy sitting room. There were candles lit and pictures of what could only be her family perched everywhere. The walls were a deep burgundy and wooden beams spread out above him. As he took in the space around him, Missouri had returned with his steaming cup of tea. She sat in a large cushioned chair across from his, her own tea sat on the wooden coffee table.

“So how was your day Castiel?” she asked.

“Well I worked for a majority of it, but it was nice.”

“Do you enjoy working in the shop?”

“Yes, I find the work doable and relaxing.”

“How are you enjoying the apartment?”

“It’s very nice.” He smiled. “I enjoy having my own space.”

“Good, good. Well as nice as this chitchat is, I did call you here for a reason. Now I know you’ve noticed that business has been picking up quite a bit.”

“It has.” He said carefully.

“I want you to do a bit more for the front end as my reading schedule has gotten a little more hectic.”

“So, you want me to work more hours?”

“Not necessarily. I actually want you off the register all together. I want you to be a manager, more hands on at taking care of things while I’m busy in the other room.”

“Oh—um—ok.” He muttered surprised.

“It’ll be more work, but I’ll also increase your pay. Are you interested?”

“Yes, yes I am.”

This could mean good things for him, now he wouldn’t have to worry about budgeting so tight for food and rent. He wondered what the new responsibilities would be, but he had no doubt Missouri would train him up just like she did the last time.

“That’s great sweetie. We’ll get started with everything tomorrow.”

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Castiel picked the Saturday after he moved in. His space was finally coming together. He got his meditation corner set, groceries and small cooked meals in his fridge, decorative pillows on his couch, and even some fresh flowers in a vase on his coffee table. Tonight, was his first night in the apartment, Dean had just left not too long ago. Why he was nervous about sleeping he wasn’t too sure. The man had insisted on helping to clean up after dinner, but he’d shooed him out since he had to work early in the morning. Missouri had given him the Monday off, saying that he needed time to get acquainted with his new living quarters. How she knew that was a custom for him, he didn’t know, but nonetheless it was nice that she was willing to give him time to do so. The plan was to get a full night’s sleep, then first thing in the morning he was to have an intense meditation session, in thanks for the blessings of shelter. Then he was to eat a full breakfast and go commune with nature. A nice walk to the library would suffice. He was overdue for some research, finally find out what that spirit was that visited him. The last time he’d been there he didn’t find much, but he was also heavily distracted by thoughts of a certain sandy-haired man. The only issue was that he couldn’t yet fall asleep. Tea, some reading, even a little relaxing music he was able to play on his phone didn’t help him get any more tired.

See he was still amped up from his visit with Dean. They’d watched the first Tremor movie, it was funnier than the thriller that it was intended to be. When Dean had put the second one on they barely watched the first 30 minutes of it. Dean was laying on his lap, a hand holding his knee. Castiel felt the need to card his hands through the soft looking hair.

“You enjoying yourself buddy?”

“I always cherish our time together Dean.”

“That’s good to hear.” He paused. “Can I ask you a personal question Cas?”

“You can ask me anything you want, it’s up to me whether or not I choose to answer it.” He smirked.

“No sass.” He playfully slapped his knee. “Have you ever been in a relationship before?”

“I assume you mean in the romantic sense. No I have not.”

He turned on his back to look up at Castiel, that soft look of his eyes, and the subtle shyness of his expression. This was the most dangerous face he’d ever come in contact with. This man could ask him for his soul right now and he’d hand it over without another thought.

“Have you ever thought about a romantic relationship? Like seeing yourself in one?”

“Not until very recently.” He smiled. “Probably since I met a very handsome man who’s slightly younger than me at a bar where they serve really good nachos.”

“Flattery gets you everywhere Cas.” He grinned, white teeth and all.

“Mhm.” He continued playing with Dean’s hair.

“You wanna by my boyfriend Cas?” he fluttered those hazardously long eyelashes.

“I most certainly do. Though I’m not aware how most people court one another…”

“That’s ok. We’ll make it up as we go along.” He winked.

The rest of their time together was spent with their lips locked, and arms wrapped around one another. Both of them keeping their hands above the waist, Castiel, because he was clueless, and Dean, because he didn’t want to push too far. It was quite an experience, he could feel arousal course around his veins for the first time in such a long time. He was no stranger to the feeling as a whole, but to this level, it was overwhelming. Dean must be on the same wavelength because he pulled back entirely.

So now he laid here, staring at his ceiling, going over the events of the night in his head.

* * * *

“Just ask me already and quit your stallin’!” Missouri called out to him.

The library was a bust, nothing new he hadn’t even vaguely heard of was in those books. The only other source that was within walking distance was his job. Certainly he could look on the internet, but the last time he’d gone there looking for advice, he was steered in the total wrong direction. For now he opted to stick with books, which was why his boss was getting annoyed with him for being in here on his day off.

“I don’t know what you—“

“You need an answer to a question that you have yet to ask me. I can see it all over you.”

Leave it to her to sniff out an issue before he’d even said anything.

“I can’t talk about this out in the open. Can we please go into the reading room first?”

“Come on sweetie.”

Once they were both seated on opposite sides of the round table Castiel was able to breathe a little better. He told her about his two interactions with the being he now called the Empty. She listened silently as he described the environment he was taken too, what he felt while he was there, how the being took on the voice of his mother, and the second time the form of his father. Since his first date with Dean he hadn’t been taken back to that place, though during his meditation this morning he tried calling out to the entity, only to come up with nothing.

“From what you’re telling me this being seems like a guardian of some sort, now why he’s calling out to you I’m not too sure of. But if this thing is taking the form of your parents, it could be an agent being sent to you on their behalf.”

“I see, so this being is a middleman of sorts?”

“It’s a possibility. I’ve never been in contact with such a creature, but from what you’ve told me I can draw that conclusion.”

It was comforting to think that his parents were still looking out for him. The only troubling part was how they could possibly know that he was safe here. Sure he felt more than comfortable with a lot of the individuals here, enough to want to invite them into his space, but what if they still came? What if they found him now that his guard was down?

“Castiel.” she began. “You have a strong connection with the world around you. I can see it all over you. You don’t have to explain yourself or your past, but I’ve seen the way that people are drawn to you. Something has manifested within you.”

“I’m aware of it, have been for most of my life.”

“It’s a gift that you possess.”

He thanked her for her time and her compliment. His ‘gift’ could be perceived as that, but often it was more of a nuisance. Taking the tea he was eyeing on the shelf to the register, a new brand that they haven’t stocked before, but she simply waved him off. She wanted a review on it, make sure that it was a good enough product to keep ordering.

“Get out of here and enjoy your day off!” she hollered as he was walking out of the door.

* * * *

Managing to get away from a woman telling him about how her and her husband met only for the relationship to fall apart because she’d fell in love with his sister. The divorce wasn’t going well and their family was falling apart. She was glad they hadn’t had kids yet, wouldn’t want to put kids through the nasty mess that was her life.

See this was the dark side of his ability, strangers unloading on him the second their eyes met. His mother had warned him about this, just after his powers manifested. People would try to use him for evil, and this was why he was on the run. His mind wondered to those times as he was combing the coffee supplies the local grocery store had to offer. Even after all of these years there was still a rough-edged void within him from the loss of his family.

“Cas?” he turned around to see the smiling face of Sam Winchester. “Hey man how are you?”

“I’m doing well. How are you Sam?”

“Good. Just running some errands for my parents in between job hunting.”

“Dean told me you recently finished law school.”

“Yeah I did. I actually got back to town a bit before you moved here. Now I’m just looking for a firm willing to take me on.”

“Well I wish you all the luck with that Sam.” He said following the man towards the registers.

“So you and Dean huh?” he asked loading his things onto the conveyer belt.

“Yes. He asked me to be his boyfriend last night.” he smiled at the memory.

“Yeah he told me.”

That made Castiel happy. Dean was proud to be with him and had let his family know about their budding relationship. Once Sam had finished checking out, he waited for Castiel to be done to finish their conversation.

“You want a ride back? I got mom’s car today.”

“That would be nice, thank you.”

They got in the sedan and began their ride over to Missouri’s shop. Sam didn’t say anything the whole way, so Castiel stayed silent as well. As they pulled up to the shop’s front Sam decides to say something.

“So you planning on staying Cas?”

“Yes. That’s why I got the apartment.”

“Well I don’t wanna give you the whole ‘if you hurt my brother speech’ but Dean is a great guy and doesn’t deserve to be jerked around. If for a minute you think you’re gonna change your mind, you need to let him go.”

“I wouldn’t hurt Dean, Sam.”

“I like you Cas, I do, I’m just saying.”

With that Castiel said his goodbyes and walked into his house, carrying out the rest of his plans for the day.

* * * *

The day of the house warming Castiel was a nervous wreck. He hasn’t had friends since he was a young boy, and several, plus a boyfriend was dumped in his lap in only a matter of weeks. The longest he’d been in the same place was a 6 month stretch during his travels down the east coast. During that time he’d barely made acquaintances with the people he worked with. Dean had texted him earlier in the day asking if it was alright if Charlie and a man named Bobby could attend as well. Charlie was his friend that owned the bookstore they’d gone to on their first date and Bobby was a family friend that owned the body shop that Dean worked at. That was an added set of nerves, new people he’d never met before. Still he said yes to Dean because he was sure that if these were friends of Dean’s then they were just as kind as everyone else. The apartment was already in a clean state, but he made sure to do a little extra work just in case. Once he was satisfied with it, it was almost time for his guests to arrive. Dean had told him not to worry himself with making anything, as all food would be provided by the people coming. He still decided that he would make some fresh fruit juices for everyone to partake in.

A knock at the door let him know that someone had arrived. He opened it to find a smiling Dean holding a box in one arm and a few grocery bags at his feet.

“Hey sunshine.” He walked in as Castiel moved to the side. “How you feeling today?”

“I’m doing alright Dean. Do you need help?”

“No I’ve got it. Just gonna sit all this stuff in the kitchen.”

Castiel followed him and watched as he set up several closed dishes of food. He took a portable griddle out of the box and set it on the stove. When he finished he walked right into Castiel’s space, placing his hands on his hips.

“I missed you Cas.”

“You just saw me a couple days ago.” He chuckled as Dean nuzzled his face into his neck.

“Doesn’t matter.” He said as he spattered kisses along his neck. “It’s cause you were busy.”

“Well I had a few things to do for work.” he rubbed his hands up and down Dean’s back.

His hands moved upwards to Dean’s hair. Running his hands through it had quickly become one of his favorite things to do. Whether they were on the couch watching a movie or standing in the kitchen like they were now, it was necessary for him to touch it at least for a little while. Dean’s wandering lips made their way up his neck towards his own lips. He immediately opened to Dean’s prodding tongue wanting to feel it sliding against his own. The curl of arousal that arose every time he and Dean touched like this was getting to be so familiar to him and he welcomed it every time. His hands moved forward to hold the man’s face, tilting his own to the side to change the angle of the kiss. Dean’s own moved from his hips to his backside, subtly squeezing the muscles. The heat inside him amped up several notches, he leaned fully into Dean, loving the way that everything the man did brought him such pleasure.

Just as they were really getting into it, a loud knock at the door shattered their little bubble.

“We’ll finish this later.” He nodded his head in promise and went to the door.

He was greeted by the rest of the Winchester clan and Missouri. The men gave him friendly handshakes and pats on the back and the women embraced him lovingly. Everyone had a dish in their hands, this was turning out to be quite a feast and they’d only gotten started.

“What kind of music should we put on Dean?” Sam asked as he set up a portable speaker.

“You know good and well what we wanna listen to Sammy.” He smirked.

Sam rolled his eyes but he put on what he knew his brother would want to listen to. He then looked to see if Castiel had any rebuttal to this and he shrugged in response. He didn’t mind Dean’s music, he’d gotten accustomed to it over their time together.

Before he knew it all his guests were in attendance and the event was in full swing. Laughter and all forms of chatter filled the air, food was passed around, and Castiel was having an amazing time. He’d been introduced to Charlie and found Dean’s assessment of her to be correct. She was full of life and he found that he enjoyed that about her. Bobby was a different story, very rough in nature. He wasn’t too sure if the man liked him or not, but Dean assured him that’s just how he was.

Currently they were all sitting on the couches, half watching a movie. There wasn’t enough room for everyone, so Charlie and Dean sat on the floor. He wanted another beer, enjoying the lose feeling that it was giving him. The kitchen smelled so strongly of food and seasoning; it was a scent that he didn’t know that he missed from his home.

“So, Cas,” Charlie had followed behind him. “I like you. You’re adorable and all that. but I gotta tell you, Dean is incredibly important to me.”

“I’ve gathered that.”

“So, you need to know that if you hurt him, I’m capable of many things.” She raised an eyebrow that didn’t quite match the smirk on her face.

“I’ve already gotten this speech from Sam.”

“Wait what?!” they both turned to see Dean behind them. “Sam!”

“Dean please.” He rushed after him as he stormed back into the living room.

“You threatened my boyfriend.” He bellowed at his brother.

“Of course, I did. That’s what brothers do.” Sam said with rolled eyes.

“How’d you beat me to it?” John laughed.

“We’re not doing any of this.” Dean pointed his fingers at his father and brother.

“I have to agree with Dean. Castiel is a sweetheart.” Mary added in.

“Thank you, Mom. This ends now.”

The two men and Charlie at least looked a little remorseful for their actions. Personally, it didn’t really bother Castiel. He could understand where they were coming from, being protective of the ones you loved. Dean deserved to have people in his corner that were willing to go to bat for him. The conversation took a definite term as they began paying attention to the movie. Everyone learned that Castiel really had no knowledge of the Marvel cinematic universe. Dean got very excited that he could go through all of the movies with him, bringing out his own excitement to be a part of this.

888888888

There’s something to be said about Dean being in his apartment. The union blessing/housewarming went much better than he anticipated. He didn’t realize so many people wanted to celebrate him getting his own space. They were essentially celebrating the fact that he was going to stay in Lawrence. It felt ore like an initiation into their family than anything else. Castiel now had more food than he knew what to do with. That’s how he found himself here, watching Dean once again moving around his kitchen like there was nowhere else in the world he’d rather be. Packing some of the foods people brought into Tupperware that would be stored in the freezer for later and others that would be used as lunches for work and dinner. Since they started the furnishing of this place Castiel had enjoyed Dean being her more and more each time. He enjoyed it so much so that though the party was over, he didn’t want the other man to leave. He hadn’t even realized Dean was finished until he started talking.

“Now that that’s done I can get out of your hair.”

It was now or never. Where this sudden bravery streak came from, he had no idea.

“Dean I was—actually wondering if you um wanted to stay the night?” he could feel the heat on his face and sweat in his clenched hands.

“Like sleep here?” Dean stopped in his tracks looking at Castiel with wide eyes.

“Well yes. I’m not uh…ready for sexual intercourse, but the bed is quite large so we could fit in it and..” he trailed off.

“Yeah I can stay here.” Dean smiled.

The next half hour proved to be quite difficult. He offered Dean some sweatpants and a t-shirt to sleep in. He quite enjoyed the fact that the man would be sleeping his clothes. It was like the two of them were caught up in their own version of auto-pilot, winding and turning around each other as they got ready for bed. For being the one to suggest this in the first place, Castiel was a wreck while Dean looked like this was any other night.

“Cas if you aren’t ok with this I can just go home.” He offered.

“I’m sorry I must admit that I’m a little nervous. I don’t want you to leave. It’s why I asked in the first place.” He turned down the covers and began getting into the bed.

“Aww you were gonna miss me angel?” he asked copying Castiel’s movements.

There was a half foot of space between them and he found himself wanting to eliminate it entirely. With it being dark in the room you could barely make out the face of the other person. With his desire fueling him he slid forward until he was as close as possible. All the nerves and anxious energy floated through him like steam as Dean wrapped him in his arms. The man kissed him on the forehead before nuzzling his face in the side of his neck. Warm, even breaths let him know that Dean was comfortable and well on his way to being asleep. It filled Castiel with such tenderness, how gentle Dean was in this moment. He could feel the man’s heart beating right against his chest and he was happy. Sleep fell over him, and he was content.


	6. You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Hey! Sorry this took so long, I'm in the process of moving. But this chapter is quite long plus we earn our explicit tag in this one so....... Any way I hope you enjoy!

Dean felt good as he woke up that morning. It was the light coming in through the gap between the heavy green curtains of Castiel’s bedroom window that dragged him into the land of the living. Their positions had shifted, but they didn’t drift apart at all through the night. He was facing the window with Cas clinging to his back, the heat of midmorning causing sweat to form between them. Normally he’d balk at the feeling of too much body heat, this time was different in so many ways. For one he hadn’t had sex with or was related to the person he was in bed with. This was the first time he’d ever seriously dated a man. He’d been around the block, sleeping with whoever caught his eye, he never did have much of a preference. To go horizontal with someone and not take their clothes off was a totally new thing for him though.

Since Castiel’s arrival it’s been a time for many a new thing for Dean. He’d taken the man on a date ( just one so they should probably go on another), he took a very roundabout way of introducing the man to his family, though much of that credit should go to his mother’s insistent nature. Cas was growing to be important, definitely beyond what the prophecy called for. No one questioned his quickly enlarging attachment to the man, his duty to befriend him was enough and it was finished, but they just let him keep going. There was no stopping Dean, even if they hadn’t approved, this would be the direction they were headed for and at this point only Cas had the power to put a stop to the progress. Missouri always smiled at him with that knowing smirk of hers, Mom thought he was the cutest thing since Sam was a baby, Dad didn’t say much but he seemed to like him just fine, and Sam threatened him for crying out loud. All of this was his mashed up family’s way of giving their blessing.

They liked him and enjoyed his company as if he’d been around for years. Yesterday had been incredible. All the mingling and laughter, scents and sounds of a family having a good time. This was something he never knew he wanted so badly. On some level he’d imagined it, but with the life he lived and the habits he’d clung to over the years it just didn’t seem to be in the cards for him. If someone had said 6 months ago he’d be in a relationship with a man he’d known for a month and some change, and that this man would integrate himself into the lives of himself and those he’d known forever, he’d have laughed it off. Probably poke fun at this mystery person claiming to know Dean’s future.

The shy bookworm who was thrust into a world he knew little about and still managed to survive on his own, had grown to be so much more than a charge to him. That same man was currently blowing hot morning breathe on his neck and it still managed to further endear him to Dean.

Wiggling his way out of the other man’s hold, he went to the bathroom to freshen up and then to the kitchen to start breakfast. What better way to wake his brand-new boyfriend up then the smell of coffee and omelets? Dean was a morning person, had been all his life. He wondered what Cas was like fresh in the morning, and he didn’t have to wait long since as soon as he plated breakfast and got the mugs on the table a very rumpled man emerged from the bedroom. Hair wilder than usual, scratching his stomach, and squinty eyes greeted him with a grunt.

“Alright just go on and sit down.” He ushered the man to a pulled-out chair and handed him his mug. “Drink your morning life juice.”

“Sorry Dean.” He smiled shyly after taking a few sips in silence.

He waved him off and began digging into his food.

“Gotta go to the shop in a few but I figured I made sure you ate before I left.”

“You are very much a caregiver Dean. I like that about you.”

He felt his face heating up against his permission at the man’s admission. Of course he was a caregiver, he was so close to his mother that he just adopted that way about her and let it warm through his entire personality. Even watched over Sam like it was his 6-figure paying full time job. His father had made him a quick thinking soldier, but his mother wrapped all of that with love. Cas didn’t always have a way with words, but when he did they were offered with such truth and gentle conviction, often leaving Dean speechless.

“Yeah, yeah now eat.”

To spare Dean further embarrassment about his helpless ‘mother henning’ he simply smiled and did what was asked of him.

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Spending time with Dean only got better with time. Castiel wasn’t surprised by this, since the first night he’d met the man he knew that the brazen, flirtatious exterior was but a shield for the caring, compassionate man underneath it. Sure the man was still relentlessly flirtatious, but since they’d agreed that they were in a relationship with one another it was all directed towards him. He liked that side of the man, it riled him up in ways that no one else had been able to. It was deeply ingrained in his sense of humor, and although some of the things he said teasingly to Castiel the man didn’t quite understand he could get the gist of it.

The man was frustrating as well with all his flirting. Castiel knew that it was outside of Dean’s norm to be dating someone for this long and never having sex with them. He was glad for the man’s patience with him getting use to the idea of being that vulnerable in front of another person. But of course, that didn’t mean he was entirely innocent about it. Since that first time spending the night together Dean had slept over many more times after that. He often spent more time at Castiel’s apartment than his own house. He’d gotten comfortable too, opting to only sleep in his boxers instead of sleep clothes. Even going as far as cooking breakfast in the morning without bothering to get dressed. Castiel was getting daily views of how perfect and beautiful Dean’s form was. He got eyefuls of the man bent over or stretching to get something out of the cabinet. He was quite familiar, visually, with all the curves, dips, and sharp edges that made up his boyfriend’s body. Not to mention all the kissing and heavy touching they’d been doing. With all that aside Dean had made it very clear that if sex wasn’t on the table for them right now then he was perfectly happy to accept that.

He’d even been spending a lot of time with Sam as well. The young man was witty and had a banter similar to Dean’s in its quickness, but not in its vulgarity. He enjoyed research and learning about the world around him, knowing a lot about ancient times, and mythical beings. Castiel enjoyed their conversations when they met up at the library or when they decided to take a trip to Moondoor.

Right now they were sitting in the bookstore enjoying a coffee with Charlie during their slow times. They were discussing the new Steven King book and somehow the conversation found its way to talking about Dean.

“You guys been together…bout 3 months now right?” Charlie asked.

“Yes, it’ll be 3 months on Friday.” He nodded sipping what Dean would call his ‘liquid sugar’ coffee. “He wants to go out to dinner after my shift.”

“Well aren’t y’all just cute.” She smiled. “You guys really compliment each other. I ship it.”

“Um thank you.”

“I’d say opposites definitely attract with you guys.” Sam tittered.

“He has a very playful nature that’s much different than mine. Its charming.”

“That’s one way to put it. I’m glad someone finds his immaturity attractive.”

“Often times we are immature together.” He sassed.

“I was just kidding man. I love my brother, and he’s just that. My annoying older brother.”

“Sometimes he is out of line yes, but I give back as much as he gives out.”

“TMI my dudes. Resident lesbian over here.” Charlie laughed.

“I do not understand what you’re sexuality has to do with the way Dean expresses humor.”

“Oh man, flew right over your head.” She giggled.

“I don’t follow innuendos well. Dean finds it endlessly funny. For example, what does he mean when he tells me to eat him? I never understand it and he just laughs at me with no explanation. Its terribly frustrating.”

“Good grief you’re adorable Cas.” Charlie shook her head and Sam choked on his drink. “When you get home look up rimming, then you’ll know.”

“Charlie! Don’t tell him that. It might freak him out. And can we please not talk about Dean anymore. This is too much.”

“Just listen to me Cas. You might like what you find.”

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The rest of their time hanging out was fun, but the things Charlie said stayed in the back of his mind. Of course when he got back to his home the first thing he looked up was rimming. He was appalled by the images he saw. Various men and women in different positions, with a partner or multiple people licking in between their cheeks. It was vulgar and obscene, and he didn’t understand why anyone would want to do that. Exiting the browser he locked his phone and left it in his bedroom in search of dinner.

When he sat down to watch a docuseries that Sam recommended him, he couldn’t stop thinking about the images he’d saw. As if they were permanently etched in his thoughts. Castiel may have been a virgin but he wasn’t clueless, he’d seen mild forms of porn before. Clicking on a movie he didn’t mean to while channel surfing in the various hotels he’d stayed in. Pausing the tv, he went back to his room to retrieve his phone. He searched the word again and decided to watch a video instead of pictures. Sure Dean had said to eat him as an insult, that much he gathered from his tone, but he wondered if the man secretly wanted this to be done to him. There were so many videos to choose from, it was a little overwhelming so he just picked the first one.

The video expanded to the entirety of his screen. It faded in from black to a pink haired man lounging around in a very nice living room, a knock sounded at the front door and he went to answer it. The man on the other side was built much like Dean, though his eyes were gray instead of the stunning green that Dean’s were. They exchanged greeting and hugs then pink hair led them to a bedroom. He’d instructed the fake Dean to take his shirt and pants off and lie on the bed faced down. From there he massaged his back with some kind of oil before moving down to his legs. Once he was finished with the massage he crawled back up the man’s body and laid himself on top of his back, leaning in to kiss him. They kissed for quite a while before he moved away, tugging the man’s under wear down and pulling it to his ankles and leaving it there. Slowly he parted the man’s cheeks, rubbing the oil into them before he dove in with his mouth and began kissing and licking at his entrance. The fake Dean didn’t seem surprised by this and immediately responded with noises rivaling the loud sucking and slurping of the pink haired man. They both appeared to be enjoying themselves a great deal, a chorus of pleasure heavy noises filling that room. Castiel felt his own arousal spiking at the vision in front of him. Feeling inspired by these men he pulled himself out of his pants and began to stroke himself. It’d been so long since he touched himself to some form of pornography. The noises were getting louder and fake Dean was now rutting up against the bed, taken over by the throes of passion. Pink hair pulled back and with him he pulled up the other mans hips so that he was on full display, the camera zoomed in on the sight before panning out to pink hair returning to his mission. Both men stroked themselves, cursing and groaning alike, Castiel was close now, never having seen something so outlandish yet entirely pleasing. Pink hair finished first, and when fake Dean finished, Castiel imagined that it was the actual Dean and he was pink hair, it drove him to the edge and he tumbled off.

After he cleaned himself up he had a newfound resolve. For their Friday date, their 3 month anniversary he would recreate this scene.

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Friday proved to be a very interesting day. He’d come into work that morning with a bright smile on his face. Missouri tutted at him, assuming that it had to do with Dean, but she chose to make no comment about it. There was a steady flow of customers, a lot of them wanting to ask questions about various products. One guy stood out the most, asking him about the various tea blends; what was in them and what their purpose was. He’d learned the man’s name was Balthazar and they bonded for a minute about having peculiar names. The man was pleasant, even when he turned him down for a date, letting him know that he’d already had a boyfriend.

Overall it was a pleasant day. Totally risking drowning in embarrassment he looked up the closest place he could find massage oils and other products you would need when having sex with another man. It brought him a sense of excitement as he got off the bus near the adult store he’d found. The building was amidst a strip mall, much like where he worked. This one was much more obvious with bustling life. There was a dog groomer, nail salon, and a party store. It rattled him a little that there were many cars in the parking lot, families going on about there day when he had such debauchery on his mind. The shop itself looked surprisingly welcome for its intended purpose. He thought that adult stores would be tucked in dark corners where not many people went. At least that’s what he had seen in movies and read in books.

All of his excitement was brought to a halt as he was greeted by Meg’s dry voice from the counter. Turns out the inn wasn’t her only job then. She sat there with a magazine and at first didn’t look up at him, her eyes scanning whatever she was reading and smacking the ever present gum in her mouth.

“Well if it isn’t heaven’s favorite angel.” She smirked. “If you need help, I’m always down for anything.”

“Um well yes, I do need some assistance.”

She hopped off her stool behind the long, glass case and sauntered over to him.

“What can I do ya for?”

“I um need massage oil, and lubricant.”

“Flavored or non?”

“Um non I suppose.”

She lead him around, recommending things, and explaining others. Overall the experience was not as painful as he thought it would be and he was quite happy with his findings. He’d left the store with more then what he intended to buy but he was happy nonetheless.

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Dean had to be the single most romantic being on the planet. His originally plans had been to have a picnic under the stars with wine and a blanket to shield them from the subtle cold of a summer night. He’d made different finger foods for them to feed each other. It would’ve been a lovely evening, but when he’d come to Castiel’s door to pick him up and whisk him away it suddenly began to downpour. It gave Dean a lot of frustration since he’d checked the weather app on his phone all day long and it didn’t say anything about the sudden storm that was brewing outside. Castiel was trying to be optimistic and sent the man to get his goodies for the evening so they could do the same inside. They pushed the couch and coffee table aside, Castiel striding into the room with blankets and pillows to set up a nest of sorts so they could still have their picnic.

It was going well at first with music playing softly from Dean’s phone. They started with the mini sandwiches he’d prepared and sips of the wine. That was, until the power went out and left them in the dark. Again, Castiel had a fix for that, his plethora of candles coming in handy. Together they set them around the room, basking everything in a soft yellow glow. All in all the night was going well. Sure they couldn’t see the stars from inside the apartment, but seeing Dean’s skin amongst the candle light was just as beautiful as any stars glow.

“Sorry about all this Cas.” He said as he popped the top on the Tupperware of his homemade chocolate strawberries. “I promise you it wasn’t supposed to rain.”

“I see no issue with our date as it is Dean. I’m having a lovely time.” He smiled, pushing a pillow out of the way to sit at Dean’s side.

The man immediately wrapped an arm around him, tucking him into his side. It was warm here slotted against the man who’d gained such affection from him. He was happy to simply spend time with him, no matter what they were doing. Dean kissed his forehead before helping him sit up and offering him a strawberry. Castiel was meant to take it from his hand, but he decided against that and took a bite out of it while Dean still held it between his fingers. The move was bold, yes, but oh so worth it to see the man’s eyelids hang low and green gaze laser focused on his lips as he chewed. Leaning forward to take the last bite, making sure to let his mouth brush the calloused tips of Dean’s fingers. Through all the mishaps that the date had gone through, Castiel hadn’t forgotten his goal for the night and the supplies that sat on his nightstand.

Grabbing a strawberry of his own and offering it to Dean, only to have him take the thing from his fingers whole, was very satisfying and unexpected. Pillowed lips wrapping around him, the juice of the strawberry permeating the heated air around him. This was the most intimacy he’d ever experienced with another person, and he only wanted to kick it up several notches as the night progressed. It went on like this until the plastic tub was empty.

“Can I just tell you how hot this was Cas?”

“By all means.” He answered, earning a laugh from the other man.

All the food was gone and the wine bottle practically empty. Castiel’s body hummed with the alcohol and he felt a blanket of bravery fall over him. Together they cleaned everything up, folded the blankets, and put the pillows on the couch.

“I would like to try something with you Dean. In the bedroom.” He said with a finality and boldness that surprised him.

It took Dean aback as well, he just nodded and followed him wordlessly to said room.

“Take off your shirt, pants and shoes. Lay on the bed faced down. I’m gonna go get some of the candles.”

Back and forth he went, carrying two candles at a time and delighted in how the room changed with each one added. The first couple of times Dean was just standing beside the bed, seeming to be at war with himself on whether he should follow the directions given to him or not. It dampened Castiel’s mood quite a bit. Maybe he was too straight forward? Maybe Dean wasn’t comfortable not knowing what was going to happen? However, on his 4th trip to the room he was in the middle of taking his pants off, and by the last he was in the position that was requested of him.

“You are truly magnificent Dean.” He observed how the dancing flames reflected off of the man’s skin so well. “I had a conversation with Charlie and your brother, some things were said and it sent me on a very interesting journey. I hope you’re receptive to what I have planned for you tonight.”

Thinking back to the video for reference, he remembered how the not Dean’s bottom looked. While it was nice, real Dean’s was much meatier, sitting up proud even though he was laid flat. He grabbed the eucalyptus massage oil, moving to sit atop Dean’s calves. He watched the muscles in his back ripple and tense in anticipation for what was to happen next. He started at the top of his back, using a small amount of oil as Meg has said a little went a long way.

“Smells real good Cas.” Dean groaned and squirmed under his ministrations.

“I’m glad you like it.”

“It’s got like a tingly, warm sensation. Where’d you get this stuff anyway?”

“Um—an adult store.”

“The one on Maple?”

“Yes.”

“That’s the spot. Can’t believe I never saw that stuff.” He chuckled.

Touching Dean’s skin was such an experience. The man was very physical, so expressive with his body. Whether he was working or telling Castiel a story, his limbs spoke with him. Working diligently his goal was to work Dean until he was completely compliant and relaxed. He was most excited to see what song his body would sing when they arrived at the main event. He continued down the man’s legs and by that time Dean was loosened. Though his nerves were telling him to end this now, the excitement of getting to touch Dean even more had won the fight.

Castiel ran his fingers over the top of the other man’s underwear as he spoke:

“I would like to try something Dean. If you don’t like it you can let me know and I’ll stop immediately. Do I have permission to remove your underwear?”

“Hell yes you do.” He breathed.

Castiel removed the garment, sliding it down his legs and off his ankles. Using the remaining oil on his hands he kneaded into the meaty flesh before him. He did this for a while, enjoying how labored Dean’s breath got the longer he carried on. It was now or never, he thought as he leaned forward. He started with a kiss, and delighted by the gasp of breath Dean took. Peppering more and more kisses, getting sloppier as he goes. The smell is subtle, not what he thought it would be, just a higher intensity of Dean’s natural earthy smell. He let his tongue roll out and instead of little kitten licks like the man in the video he just moved the underside of his tongue from his hole towards his taint. The amount of saliva was getting out of hand, but he completely ignored it. All of his focus was on the squirming Dean was doing, and the heavy breathing that was now flowing constantly. Strong, bowed leg muscles constricted in intervals at his ministrations.

Castiel was hard and aching from the man below him. He subtly thrusted at the mattress below him. From his position he couldn’t do much since his shins were hanging off of the bed. It was enough to ease the tension, but definitely left him wanting more. He wanted to drape his entire body over Dean’s, moving around him and inside him, feeling nothing but smooth warm skin, but he wanted to see this thing through. They always had a next time.

“Cas.” Dean slurred in a moan.

He could feel the muscles of his entrance relaxing and slowly opening under him. Pushing his tongue deeper to hear the noises leak from Dean louder than before. His hips were moving now, ass pushing back into Castiel’s face, attempting to make him go deeper. He reached out to still him, gripping his hips tightly and pushed them back to the bed.

“Don’t stop.” He whined. “Keep going.”

Dean’s wish was his command. He kept going, alternating between long licks and poking his tongue right into the center. There was saliva dripping down his chin which was quite gross, but the man below him was moaning nonstop now and moving his hips between Castiel’s mouth and the bed below him even with him holding him.

“Cas…please…I can’t.”

“Do you need to touch yourself Dean?” his own voice was breathy, heavily affected by the display of the other man.

“Yes…you too.” He groaned.

Castiel moved to let the man get to his knees. He tugs himself out of his own pants and goes back to his assault on Dean’s hole. A fire moves through him as he tugs on himself, making his own sounds and joining in Dean’s song.

“Dean I’m gonna—” he trailed off.

“Do it on me Cas!” he groaned. “Right on my hole.”

The sight before him was more debauched than he could ever imagine. Dean’s backside was on full display, his hole entirely exposed. It was reddened and spit slick from all of Castiel’s previous work. Dean was shaking as he stroked himself, thrusting into the circle he’d made with his hands. He was beautiful, and their moans rang through the air.

“Yes, yes,yes.” He leaned back on his knees let himself go right where Dean asked of him.

The man below him was beside himself with pleasure, moaning Castiel’s name several times before his body went tense and falling to the mattress in a puddle of sated pleasure. He wished he could’ve seen the man’s face as he succumbed to carnal call of his body, but again there was always next time. He laid next to the man who was face planted into his pillow for several minutes before he was gathered into the man’s arms.

“That was one hell of a surprise sweetheart.” He chuckled darkly in Castiel’s ear.

“I’m happy you enjoyed that. I liked it as well.”

Castiel went to his bathroom to grab a hand towel so the two men could clean themselves up a bit. He wet it with warm water and returned, wiping Dean’s backside and abdomen getting rid of all the evidence of their first time together.

Dean rubbed his back and smiled at him before peppering his face with kisses. Slowly he moved down, kissing more the more skin before he stopped his assault of affection right around his navel. If they hadn’t just finished, this would for sure spawned another round. Calloused hands rubbed on his side, just below his ribcage where he knew his tattoo was. Words scribbled in a language that Dean couldn’t understand, but he was aware of their meaning.

“This is real pretty Cas. You gonna tell me what it means?”

“That’s a story for another time.” He sighed.

“I’m gonna hold you to that. Gotta say though, I’m kinda curious how this came up from a conversation with my brother and my best friend.”

“I asked what it meant when you said ‘eat me’. Charlie provided some interesting explanations, and the internet delivered the idea.”

“Good grief Cas.” He erupted in laughter. “It’s also an insult. I wasn’t actually requesting you to do this, but hell am I glad you did.”

“That was explained to me. Though Sam wasn’t very happy with the path of our discussion.”

Dean pulled him to lay on his chest, hands curling within the strands of his hair. “Just you wait till it’s your turn.”

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_“I don’t care about the amenities Balthazar. You were given that job and you will do it.”_

_“Yes yes, I hear you.” He rolled his eyes._

_“Have you made contact?”_

_“We had a lovely conversation in his place of work.”_

_“Not good enough.”_

_“I have a plan good sir. Don’t you worry your little head about it.”_

_“Do the job Balthazar. I’d hate to remind you what should happen if—”_

_He ended the call. He didn’t need a reminder._

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Castiel went to work the next day feeling on top of the world. Truly nothing could get him down right now. The intimate moment he shared with Dean was such a pleasing experience that he didn’t want to part from the man this morning but alas they both had responsibilities. His shift started off a little stressful, some of the tea orders weren’t there by the time they opened up. Missouri didn’t seem too concerned so he let his worries go and went about checking in her appointments and making calls to those who wanted to book. It had been an idea of his to switch the paper on a clipboard to a website. Charlie would be a good asset to help him with that. It would also bring a lot of business since they town and therefore the shop was a bit out of the way for a lot of their clientele.

“Hello Castiel.” He looked up from his task to find the man from last week.

“Hi how can I help you?”

“I was actually wondering what you were doing after work?”

“Um—”

“I’m not trying to hit on you again.” He chuckled. “I’ve taken the hint. I just stumbled upon a lovely little café just outside of town that serves some well brewed teas and quaint pastries that are just to die for.”

He did really like tea, but he also didn’t know this man very well.

“And you would like to go with me?”

“As friends of course.”

He was quite hesitant to answer….this was an unknown man asking him to hangout. To be honest it wasn’t much different than his first few interactions with Dean. That seemed to work in his favor, and on that thought he decided to ride the wave of luck he’d received and see where his efforts take him.

“I’ll have to see if my boyfriend is able to drive me as I don’t have a car right now.”

“All fine and dandy darling. Wouldn’t want to make your beau jealous.” He reached into his pocket for a business card and handing it over. “The second number is my personal cell. Just text me time if you’re able to make it.”

“I can do that.”

The man smiled and waved before exiting the store with a smile on his face.

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“Hey sweetheart.” Dean beamed when Castiel opened the door for him. “What’d you need?”

“I may have made a friend today.”

“That’s awesome. Did you meet them at work?” he asked as he settled on the couch.

“Yes. He wants to get lunch at a café, but I don’t drive and I don’t feel comfortable riding with him.”

“Yeah no I get that. I don’t mind driving you. I could find something else to do while you hangout.”

Dean was taking this surprisingly well and not at all jealous like Balthazar said he would be. His boyfriend trusted him, not getting upset at the prospect of someone new entering his life.

“At first he tried to ask me on a date, but I turned him down as I am with you.”

“Damn right you are. When and where?”

“I will text him to find out there where and I just have to tell him the when.”

The address was to a little shop twenty minutes away. They agreed to meet in about an hour. In the little time that they had Dean decided to introduce him to the world of playing Uno, saying that the next Winchester gathering would be a game night and he would no doubt be roped into playing. The game was easy enough, he hadn’t played with cards since he was a kid. Dean was proud of how fast he picked it up, promising next time they would try poker. He wasn’t too fond of the idea of gambling his money away, but the other man assured him they wouldn’t play with real currency.

When it was time to go, he was a little apprehensive about this whole thing. He’d gotten this interesting vibe from the man, colors indicating a secret was kept in his aura. He didn’t get any of the usual warnings he would if he was a part of _them_ , no crazy weather or heavy winds. In favor of giving the man a chance he would do this one thing. If he enjoyed himself and nothing earth-shattering happened then he would be open to having a friend, if not then he will stop this train immediately.

When they arrived they had 10 minutes to spare so Castiel let the man know. Apparently he was already inside and had gotten them a table.

“Have fun angel.” Dean kissed him on the forehead before he got out of the car. “I’m gonna check out that hardware store we passed on the way over.”

He was nervous, terribly so. Dean picked up on his hesitation to close the door.

“Ain’t nothing wrong if you wanna bail out early. You don’t feel comfortable, you let me know. I'll be right back to get you.” He smiled softly.

Castiel didn’t know what to say to the genuine compassion Dean showed to him so he nodded and gave a smile of his own.

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Castiel wishes he had the correct terminology to describe Balthazar. Out of the 3 languages he knows fully there are several books worth of words that could fit, but none of them are quite right. The man somehow figured out how to be vulgar, considerate, and hilarious all in the same sentence. He was getting whiplash from the conversation and they were just talking about what they did for a living.

“So enough about obligation, what do you do for fun?”

“Um well I do enjoy a good book, I also go for runs.”

“Any activities that you can possibly do with another person?” he cackles and heads around the room turn in their direction.

“Balthazar you’re too loud!” he hissed not wanting the attention they were getting in the quiet café. “You can absolutely do those things with another person.”

“Is that what you and your boy do? You read him a bedtime story?”

“No I don’t.” he rolled his eyes.

“Can’t he read them on his own?”

“I don’t appreciate you trying to poke fun at Dean.”

“I’m just having a laugh. Where is the bloke anyway?”

“He went to a hardware store we saw on the way.”

“Oh a man’s man hmm?”

“I’m not sure what you mean by that?”

“Does he like to build things Cassie?”

“I believe so. He is also a mechanic.” 

“Very interesting.”

After, they steered the conversation to more ‘icebreakers’, Balthazar talking about his strange family and Castiel evading each question about his own. He did, however, tell a story about Gabriel, the colony prankster and his brother. To this day no one knows how he managed to make itching powder and spread it throughout everyone’s homes with no one noticing. Enjoying the company of a man so brash and brutally open was a new feeling for him. As much as he’d deny it to the man’s face Balthazar was quite funny.

“This was fun.” He said as they paid for their meals.

“Yes, I love this place. Very glad that you could join me. Is your beau here yet?”

Castiel checked his phone and sure enough Dean had texted him. He looked out the large windows at the front of the café so see the impala with his boyfriend leaning back with a book in his hand.

“Look at how smitten you are?” the man chuckled.

They walked out of the shop, Dean got out of the car with a smile on his face. Approaching one another, he received a kiss on his cheek in greeting. He introduced the two, Dean still smiling and Balthazar wearing a smirk of his own. They conversed for a few more minutes before Balthazar said he had work to get done and all went their separate ways.

In the car Dean offered him once last glance before starting the car and turning on his music, then pulling onto the road.

“So did you have fun?” he asked as he tapped the steering wheel to the beat of the music.

“Yes I did.”

“You sound surprised,” his eyes slid to him before returning to the road, “Was he alright?”

“He’s much different than anyone I’ve ever interacted with. But then again so were you.”

“Well that worked out great for you huh?”

“Yes, yes it did.”


	7. HayWire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Bit of a late update cause of life. I recently moved. Yay! Here's a fairly long chapter to make up for my absence. Hope you enjoy! xoxo

There were so many pieces on the board at this point they were far beyond checkers and chess at this point. Whoever these Hell’s Prince people thought they were they had nothing on the Hunter’s initiative. This was probably the largest operation their chapter had seen in the last 50 years. As they were on the smaller side, despite the strength and knowledge they had, they just didn’t have the man power for jobs like this. When big things arose they usually went to the Campbell’s, Mom’s family, since they had the people and the skill to back it up. Loki, well known in the magick community, picked them specifically though. Not only was he paying them a fat chunk of change, but if they did this right, and took down a big bad like the Princes, they’d be known as the best chapter in the country. Tonight’s meeting was at Bobby’s house, drinks and food was plenty and the mingling was fun, but now it was time to get down to business. Their chapter’s current mission was: Protect the Chime child, or as Dean liked to call it ‘Shoot down anyone who tries to harm his boyfriend’.

“So what’s on the agenda tonight?” Bobby asking taking a swig of his whiskey.

“Well Dean’s real close to the target,” Sam said. One look at Dean’s face and he cleared his throat and changed his tune, “I mean his boyfriend.”

“Yeah question about that. When can I tell him about all this? Cause I don’t like that I gotta lie to him.”

“Loki doesn’t think it would be wise right now.”

“How about you tell Loki to stop hiding in the shadows and say that to my face.”

“Dean.” His mother chastised.

“Hate to say it Mama Winchester, but I kind of side with Dean on this one.” Charlie tuned in.

“We all know who Loki is in theory, we’ve seen his work and we know he’s on our side. Hell I even asked him if he wanted to join, that guy would be one hell of a hunter, but he also hired us for this. There’s only so many demands we can make here. Exposing who we are and what we’re doing to Castiel just ain’t smart right now.”

“But Dad—”

“Dean you know I’d go to hell and back for you, but this ain’t the time. I get where you’re coming from son. It’s Loki, us, and 3 other chapters on standby for this. We got a lot of strong people batting for this team, but this is Hell’s Prince, they aren’t anything to side-eye. One wrong step and this whole thing is blown.”

“Being honest aint a wrong step Dad.” He spat.

“Well no one told you to bang your charge Dean!”

“John—” Mary gasped.

“Dad come on—” Sam yelled.

He couldn’t accept that. It didn’t feel right to base the one relationship he actually wanted to go far, on a bunch of really big lies. It hurt, really did, that his own flesh and blood would just shoot him down like that without even hearing his side. Drinking the rest of his glass all in one go, Dean then pushed back from the table and walked out of the backdoor. He needed air and he got it for the remainder of the meeting.

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“Why is this so damn heavy?” Dean hollered in frustration, whipping his sweaty shirt over his head and tossing it to the ground. “Isn’t this a bunch of tea?”

“It’s more than that Dean.”

“I’m gonna ring Kevin’s neck next time I see him.”

“Please don’t assault my employee. That wouldn’t be very nice of you.” He grunted as he handed another box off of the truck to Dean.

“You’re lucky you’re so damn cute.” He smirked. “Got me doing manual labor on my day off.”

“I’ll make it up to you after work if you’re still free.” He winked.

“I’ll be here the second you get off.” He hollered behind him as he walked the box inside the back door of the shop.

Castiel hadn’t been able to spend much time with Dean for the last week and a half. A couple breakfast and lunch dates here and there, but 30 minutes was only 30 minutes. Dean had been busy between work and family things to take care of and Castiel was more than ready to settle down for the night wrapped in his man’s arms. Finally, their schedules aligned, he just had to get through the rest of the work day.

“You can’t be too mad at him,” He said as Dean walked back towards the truck, “ His education is important and his mother wouldn’t let him keep a job if it interfered with his studies. Plus this is a great opportunity for me to stare at you while you’re hard at work.”

“Oh Yeah? What’s doing it for you? The B.O before 9am or the possibility of sunburn?” he waggled his eyebrows.

“Hmm. I’d say the sunburn so that I can rub you down with aloe to sooth you.”

Dean bent over in laughter even though Castiel was entirely serious. He managed to calm down for only a minute before he erupted once again.

“I don’t know how you do it Cas. Somehow you manage to turn me on, look adorable, and crack me up with the wild things you say.”

“I aim to please. Now get over here so we can finish this.” 

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Balthazar talked a lot. He wasn’t that big on actual phone conversations, but boy could he make a text message feel like one. And he was rapid fast with it as well. After work Dean came over as promised, they were now seated in front of his new TV that Dean helped him buy and hooked up for him. They were watching the first tomb raider movie and while he was quite engrossed in it, the buzzing of his phone kept distracting him. Choosing to ignore it he snuggled into Dean’s side and kept his eyes trained on the screen.

“You gonna get that?” Dean asked as his phone buzzed one more time.

“Its just Balthazar.” He replied.

“Seems he’s got a lot to say. You can answer him if you want. It don’t bother me none.”

He picked up his phone to find Balthazar sending him pictures from back home. They talked about his various trips around the world he had to take for his job. Castiel was truly fascinated by them as he had only ever been in America. Apparently, the man had to go back home for a time, to sort things out for his latest assignment. Balthazar’s actual job title wasn’t clear, but from what he gathered from their talks he was in business of sorts.

“Look at this Dean.” He showed him a picture of Balthazar in front of a tall and lit up building he said he took when he was in Tokyo.

“That’s awesome Cas. So you and Balthazar huh? Becoming good friends?”

“I do quite enjoy his company yes.” He said as he typed on his phone. “I was actually thinking of having another dinner party here. Maybe just a few others and inviting him as well. What do you think about that?”

He looked up to find Dean much closer than he was before. Those green eyes and that stunning aura enveloping and effectively trapping him in its existence. Overtaken by their proximity, both men met in the middle in a clash of lips and teeth. As harsh as the mutual attack was, the pleasure of it was very much there. Phone forgotten it fell out of his hands and in between the couch cushions. Strong hands wrapped around his side and back, pulling him into Dean’s warm lap. He went willingly, bracing himself on strong shoulders, their chests pressed up against one another.

“Can you be my prize Cas?” he grumbled, lips still touching the other.

“Um—what?”

“You said you would make my hard work worthwhile. If I recall correctly you said ‘make it up to me.”

Hands appeared on his backside as those full set of lips went back to work against his own. He ground down on Dean’s arousal, swirling his hips as the heat between them began to rise. Hands gripping his hips tightly, Dean began to rise off the couch. Instinctively he wrapped his legs and arms tighter around the other man. Castiel knew he was strong, but they were relatively close in size so he never expected the man to be able to lift him like this. With careful steps he carried him to the bedroom, laying him down softly atop the blankets and pillows as if he was a precious thing. He climbed on top of him, hands braced around his cheeks, body flat on top of the other. His kisses took on a softer nature, not as hurried as before. On one arm he propped himself up on his elbow and with the other he trailed down Castiel’s chest.

“How bout we take all this off sweetheart?”

The tone of Dean’s voice alone rendered Castiel speechless, so instead of an answer he just moved. T-shirt off and the sweatpants quickly followed, Dean removed his own garments. Stunned, he took in the fact that Castiel wasn’t wearing any underwear.

“Well damn.” He breathed.

“I keep my promises Dean.”

Feeling emboldened by the positive response, he gotten on top of the man grinding his middle down while putting their lips back together. Dean’s hands went right to his bare ass, grabbing chunks of flesh and releasing, effectively rocking Castiel on top of him. The feeling was like nothing he’d ever experienced with his own hand.

“Take these off.” He tugged at Dean’s brief waistband.

Once they were off Dean took them in his hands, rubbing their heads together. Castiel broke away from him for a second to grab the lube since the situation called for it.

“Look at you, all prepared.”

Popping the top of the brand-new bottle, Dean squirted a large amount in his hand. The lube increased the already high pleasure to new heights that Castiel had never felt before. He was essentially in the other man’s lap, legs wrapped around his waist. Needing those full lips on his again he launched forward. So soft and plush, warm and sliding against his own. Dean tightened his grip, paying a lot of attention to the heads of them. Castiel could feel his orgasm right around the corner.

“So hot Cas. You are so damn beautiful right now.” He groaned.

At Dean’s words his body locked up, erupting over the fingers gripping him tight. He looked down to see the mess he made, Dean letting out one final moan before he added to it. It was erotic, sensational, and everything in between. They slowly came down, trading soft kisses and equally soft touches. He broke away from Dean for a minute to grab him a tissue.

“Do you feel adequately compensated?” he chuckled at Dean’s frown for having to clean off his hand.

“I will when you take a shower with me.”

The smile and glistening eyes did him in. Who was he to say no to that?

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He really should have had the foresight for the madness that was unfolding before him. Now he was being assaulted by confetti and wrestled into wearing a cone hat on his head. Dean rushed over with a grin on his face, clearly proud of his efforts for whatever this was. Today was his birthday and he assumed this had something to do with it. Dean had made a big fuss a week ago when he’d asked when it was. He’d gotten even more in a tizzy when he told the man he’d never had a birthday party. Leave it up to Dean to make it his personal mission to throw Castiel his first ever. Back home it was simply customary to have a special dinner with family and to give thanks for the past year he’d been given, and hope that the next one would be just as fruitful. Dean had said that his custom was nice, but that he should be celebrated as well.

“Come on babe sit down.” Dean wrapped an arm around his shoulders and ushered him to the head of a long table in the middle of the Roadhouse’s dining hall.

He sat at that head of the table with smiling familiar faces just like Dean’s. Balthazar was sat to his left and Dean to his right. Mary and John sat on the other side, mirroring his and Dean’s position. Charlie, Sam, Missouri, Kevin, all those he’d been around and spent time with were here and happy for him. Ellen, the owner of the Roadhouse and close friend of John’s bustled out of the kitchen with a huge tray of plates, and Jo followed behind with pints of beer.

“Well I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced.” She smiled, setting down the burger he’d gotten the last few times he’d been here.

“It’s very nice to meet to meet you. And thank you so much for all of this.”

“Don’t thank me, it was these two knuckleheads that put all this together.” She smirked.

Well that was a surprise to him. Balthazar and Dean working together to do something for him? He knew his boyfriend had some reservations regarding his new friend, but this was evidence that he was at least trying to get along with him and that warmed Castiel’s heart.

The rest of the party was entertaining to say the least. Singing the birthday song entirely off beat and out of key, bringing out a cake with candles for him to blow out, it was a chaotic ruckus that he thoroughly enjoyed. He’d even received gifts from everyone.

“I’ll give you mine back at the house.” Dean murmured into his ear.

When all was said and done, everyone helped clean up and went on their merry way. He’d gotten pats on the back, hugs, and handshakes from everyone before Dean and he parted ways in the Impala. When they pulled up to his building Dean had stopped him with a hand on his forearm before he could get out the car.

“Now don’t get mad at me, but I had Missouri give me her spare key so me and Sam could get your present in there. Wasn’t exactly something I could wrap.”

When they got in the apartment, Castiel was met with a sight. Off to the side of his couch was a chest high book case. It was made of a dark wood to match the couch and coffee table, shining as if polished. His books from Moondoor and the few he traveled with were already sat upon it.

“I hope you like it, I really tried to get the stain right to match everything else in here.” Dean said, nervously rubbing his neck and cheeks beginning to pink.

“You made this—for me?”

“Yeah I did.”

Overcome with appreciation for the beautiful man in front of him, he exploded forward and landed in ready arms and firm chest. He kissed Dean like a man possessed, and that’s what he was. No clue what he could’ve done to deserve such a sweet man. He groped at strong back muscles, bunched and ready to catch Castiel at a moments notice. He began pushing Dean, almost falling over his own feet, towards the bedroom.

“Cas What—”

“Let me reward you for your efforts.” He purred, hardly recognizing his own voice.

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Dean was really fed-up with these milk runs. Sending him out on these level 1 hunter cases was an insult to him to say the least. Don’t get him wrong, saving people, hunting things, it wasn’t only the family business but something that he enjoyed doing. He took pride in his work, thrived in the purpose it gave him. But on the flip side he knew he was being sent out because of the fit he threw at the last meeting. He was right in his anger at the situation and he was right to be angry at everyone for taking his Dad’s side. It wasn’t right, them making him lie to Cas like that. Twice more he pressed his opinion on the issue and that third time he let his anger take over, cussing out everyone present, even his Mom. He didn’t take kindly to being pitied and patronized like he was. He wasn’t some child trying to convince the adults that cookies before dinner wouldn’t ruin his appetite. He was a man trying to tell his significant other that they were trying to take down an organization that was plotting to use him like a tool.

“Dean the basement is clear.” Sam’s voice crackled over the walkie in his pocket.

“Well that’s new. Basement is usually the spot for stuff like this.” He scoffed.

At least he was able to bring his brother on these hunts. Sam had been the only one to defend his point, and really see the situation from his side. That’s probably why he got stuck with him. They both knew Sam was here to keep Dean from flying off the rails, keep him grounded.

Today it was a college student that was dabbling in unauthorized magick. Whatever they were trying to accomplish was having a bad effect on the people in this dorm building, turning people’s skin blue. The people were physically fine otherwise, but having blue skin had to make every day life a little hard. The task was to stop them and bring them in. Having such a strong connection to magick like this in the first place was rare, Charlie and her girlfriend were gonna take this person under their wing, teach them how to use their natural gifts. Those were their words, not Dean’s. He rolled his eyes at the memory just as he rolled them then. Witches were a handful even when they weren’t killing people.

His thoughts spun to Cas, he was out with that Balthazar guy. Apparently experiencing the mall for the first time. Thinking of the British prick made his chest itch. He didn’t dislike him per say, he just got a weird feeling around the man. Charlie had said that feeling wasn’t just a hunter’s instinct. She had it in her head for years that Dean had a gift, and could practice if he really wanted to. Magick wasn’t his cup of tea though, would much rather get his hands dirty on the front lines. She wasn’t just all about the magick though, a freaking wizard with anything technology. That’s why he had her looking into Balthazar. If this dude was a danger to Cas then he was enemy number one to him.

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“Welp I’m glad that’s over.” Dean shut the door and followed Sam to his front door.

“You make it seem like it was such a difficult case.”

“A nuisance is what it was.” He grabbed a couple beer bottles tossing one his brothers way before he decided on what to eat.

“Shouldn’t we be going to check-in?”

“You can do that if you want. I’m hungry so I’m gonna eat.”

“Dean.”

“No Sam. We are not doing this.” He said with his head still in the refrigerator. “I said what I said and I meant it. They can kiss my ass with that ‘follow the mission’ crap. What are they gonna do? Kick me out the group?”

“It’s not like it can’t be done.”

“You comparing me to Gordon, Sam?” he popped his head up fixing his brother with a nasty glare.

“You know damn well I’m not. Don’t turn your anger on me when I’ve been on your side this whole time. I’m not saying they’ll kick you out. What I’m saying is Dad wouldn’t hesitate to bench you.”

“He can’t do that without Bobby’s approval.”

“Right, but if you recall, Bobby agreed on silence like everyone else.”

“And I reiterate that they can kiss. My. Ass.”

“I still can’t believe you cursed at mom. Cas must really be something.”

“Damn right he is. She’s wrong anyway. You don’t turn on your kids like that.”

“She didn’t turn on you Dean.”

“She didn’t defend me either.” He said slapping some ground beef on a cutting board and gathered his seasonings.

“Maybe we can come to an agreement. Something to make everyone happy. We tell Castiel things slowly—”

“You know that’s why they keep sticking you with me right? I could do these last few hunts with my eyes closed, yet they send two people. They’re making you the middle-man Sam.”

“I kinda got that after the first one.” He chuckled taking some of the vegetables he laid out to cut up. “What do you plan to do with that information?”

“I plan to do things my way. If they wanna bench me then they can bench me. I’m sick of lying to Cas.”

“Alright well I’ll back you.”

“Thanks Sammy.”

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Castiel was not a night life person. At least not in the way that Balthazar was. Back home his night life was telling stories by a fire, wrapped up in blankets with his family, feeling child-like joy flow through him in abundance. With Dean, it was watching a movie on the couch or eating dinner outside with his family. With his new friend it was bright lights and dark rooms, writhing, sweaty bodies, and extremely loud music. Not to mention the obscene amounts of alcohol that just kept appearing on a loop without a summons.

He’d just gotten back from France, proclaiming that he’d missed his friend dearly and that they needed to do something fun. Castiel had a totally different scene in his head at the word ‘fun’. It had been the first time Balthazar had been in his apartment and the first time someone outside of the Winchester clan had been there. Nervous and excited to share his space with his friend, he was happy at how pleased Balthazar seemed with the space.

Castiel was then made to model for the man, to find a suitable outfit for their night out. Since living here he’d gotten an array of new clothes, things he’d only dream of wearing since he couldn’t afford to in the constant survival mode that was his life prior to coming here.

He was seated in a VIP section, with Balthazar on one side and a man named Luke on the other. Not quite understanding what was so exclusive about two overstuffed couches placed on each side of the table, he’d sat there in silence. Another man named Gordon sat across from them, telling some story that Castiel tuned out. They were rowdy and not in a good way, quite rude to the staff here, and just all around distasteful. He was trying to have fun, he really was, but this just wasn’t for him. He’d had one drink, and while it wasn’t bad, he didn’t want another. Luke, who Balthazar said was a friend and colleague of his gave him such a bad feeling that he couldn’t ignore. The man was currently preoccupied with a young man, much to Castiel’s relief. He’d started out throwing empty compliments upon first meeting him that he’d completely ignored. There wasn’t enough room on the couch for 3 full grown men, but he’d sat next to Castiel anyway. He had to watch from the corner of his eye as that man groped person after person only to be rejected each time, even going so far as to slapping one woman’s boyfriend. It was peculiar to him how the staff of this place didn’t kick him out for such nasty behavior.

“I’m gonna go to the restroom.” He yelled in his friend’s ear so that he’d actually be able to hear him.

Making his way through the sea of bodies proved to be quite difficult, he did his best to not bump into anyone, but failed several times. His ass was grabbed a number of times, a few others offering a drink and a dance, but he just kept going to his goal.

Squinting his eyes against the bright lights of the room, a heavy contrast from the darkness he was submerged in. Water on his face before he looked in the mirror, he looked as tired as he felt. It was after midnight and he just didn’t want to be here anymore. He wanted Dean and his warm body in his equally warm bed. Pulling out his phone to call him, turning away from the sink, he didn’t hear the door opening. It wasn’t until his butt was pressed against the sink, water soaking slowly into the back of his jeans, that he realized Luke had entered the room.

“Wha—”

“You have such stunning eyes Castiel.” A cold clammy hand rubbed on his cheek. “I’m so glad Balthazar introduced us.”

“Back away from me please.” He pushed hard against the other man’s chest, causing him to take a step back, only to move right back into Castiel’s personal space.

“He told me you have a boyfriend. Some low life car man with no ambition. You must know that someone like that isn’t worth _your_ time right?”

A hand snaked down to the front of his crotch and Luke’s face was pressed up against his neck. He felt a kiss being placed there and that was the last straw. He pushed the man until he stumbled into the door of the stall behind him.

“I will not stand here and listen to you bad mouth him! If Balthazar feels that way about him then he can fuck off too.” He looked the vile man in the eyes as he spoke.

“Funny how you’ve been watching me all night.” He stepped closer once again. “In time you’ll change your mind about me Castiel.”

He was through with this place and he was through with Balthazar. If these were the types of people he called friend then he was done. Tearing the door open he stormed out of the bathroom, shoving his way roughly through the crowd. He needed to call Dean right now, he needed to go home.

The phone rang a couple times in his hear, he sent out prayers that it wouldn’t go to voicemail.

“Hullo.” Dean’s voice heavy with sleep sounded like paradise to Castiel in that moment.

“Dean I’m sorry to wake you but I need you to come get me.”

“Where are you? Are you ok?”

He was shaking from the anger tearing its way through his body. Closing his eyes he hoped the fear wouldn’t make its way to his voice.

“I’m still at the club. I’m no longer comfortable being here, but I’m ok.”

“I’ll be there in 10 minutes.” Dean sounded wide awake now. He heard rustling in the background indicating that the man was rushing to get dressed.

“This place is a half hour—”

“10 minutes Cas. You wanna stay on the phone with me while I drive?”

“No it’s fine. There’s a bench out here that I can wait on.”

“You sure? I’m in the car now.”

“Just call me when you get here.”

He hung up the phone and kept it in his clenched hands. The music from the club could still be heard through the brick of the outside. The street itself was empty and quiet. The air was damp, but fresh, and it was so easy to breathe out here. The club itself wasn’t horrid, the atmosphere was new to him, but had he been with the right people he wouldn’t mind coming back.

“Cassie! Grief what are you doing out here?”

Balthazar, tie askew, stumbled towards him. His suit jacket was missing, probably forever. He wasn’t sloppily drunk, but his intoxication was clear to him.

“I’m going home.” Turning his head away, looking up at the starry sky.

“Why? Luke said you stormed out of the bathroom when he went to check on you. Did something happen?”

“Ah. Well if Luke has the story why don’t you ask him what happened?”

“Were you not having fun? We can go some place else next—”

“See that’s where you’re wrong. There won’t be a next time.”

Balthazar made move to sit on the bench, so Castiel stood up.

“Cassie, please tell me what happened. You seemed fine before.”

“You can’t possibly know that due to the fact that you were more concerned about your ‘friends’ than me.”

“If this isn’t your scene than that’s fine. We don’t have to hang out at places like this anymore. I can do quiet and quaint.”

“We don’t have to hangout at all.” He spat.

Balthazar stepped back, clutching his chest as if he was burned. Eyebrows furrowed, mouth slack and hanging open, he looked hurt and shocked. As he should. Just then, the loud rumbling of a very familiar vehicle filled the street with its threatening sound. To Castiel it was the sound of respite.

Dean got out of the car with all the swag of a man who owns the world. He came to Castiel’s side with a cold look on his face he’d never seen before. It gave him chills even though it wasn’t for him. Dean looked angry, and dangerous.

“You ready to go Cas?” he growled, eyes still trained on Balthazar.

“Yes.”

And with that he got into the passenger side and shut the door. Sagging into the comfortable, warm leather of the classic car was the most secure he’d felt all day. As Dean put the car in gear and drove off, Castiel watched Balthazar’s frozen form get smaller and darker in the rearview mirror until he was swallowed by the dark of night.

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“So what happened back there?” Dean asked 10 minutes into their drive home.

Clearly, he’d sped here frantically, trying to get to Castiel as quick as possible. On the way back, though, he took his time. He knew Dean would ask this, but he honestly didn’t want to talk about it anymore. just wanting the night to be over, but he wanted to be truthful with the man. He relayed what happened, how uncomfortable he’d been through the whole night, and ended with the near assault that transpired in the bathroom.

Taking a glance at Dean once he finished his tale, he found the man to be highly upset. His hands gripped the steering wheel far tighter than was necessary for someone of his driving skill, he had that dangerous look in his eyes again.

“You plan on working it out with Balthazar?” he said through clenched teeth.

“I’m not too sure about that. Right now the answer is no, but I don’t know how I’ll feel once I’ve let it process.”

“Listen,” he sighed obviously trying to reign in his anger, “I’m not gonna tell you what to do. You’re a grown ass man and can make your own decisions. You are also someone who deserves respect, and if you aren’t getting that from Balthazar then maybe this friendship ain’t the best for you.”

“I agree with you Dean. He wasn’t aware of what happened. Luke lied to him, spinning a story about coming to check on me when he was doing the opposite of that.”

“Well let yourself cool off, if you want to reach out to the guy to clear the air then do that. If you wanna keep being cool with him or not I’ll back your play.”

“Thank you Dean.”

“And just like tonight when you need me you call. I don’t care what I’m doing or where I’m at.”

“I understand.”

“You ain’t gotta thank me. You just need to expect it from me alright?”

“Yes Dean.”

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For the next week Balthazar kept calling, Castiel ignored each one. The calls were so frequent that the number was entering the 3 digit range. He’d had Dean show him how to silence a contact in his phone, it was getting that bad. On one hand it was fairly annoying, but on the other it gave him a weird sense of satisfaction. He wanted Balthazar to feel bad about the situation he’d put him in. It wasn’t fair that he couldn’t see it, so on that 7th day he sent him a text, telling him to meet him at the roadhouse so they could talk. He picked the roadhouse for several reasons, the first one being that it was a place that Balthazar would never think to go to, second it was familiar to Castiel, and lastly they knew him there. If things got out of hand he knew Jo and Ellen would have his back.

He now sat in the booth closest to the bar, where he could be seen by the women. Arriving early he got his order and was well into enjoying his burger when Balthazar arrived. The man looked like his normal self, carrying the confidence of 100 men, and had the walk to match. Though when he sat across from him, he didn’t look so confident.

“How’ve you been Cassie?”

“I’ve been fine and you?”

“I’ve been better.” He sighed. “I see you’re enjoying your meal. What made you pick a place like this?”

“I know the owners.”

“Hmm well—” he trailed off.

“I don’t like your friends Balthazar.” He said bluntly. “They were rude and vulgar, all around unpleasant to be around.”

Balthazar sighed again, looking around, trying to figure out what to say.

“They weren’t really my friends. They’re coworkers more than anything else. It’s why I invited you out. I knew I couldn’t say no, since Luke is technically my superior. I knew I would have an awful time without an actual friend there with me.”

“So you thought you’d bring me along to also have a terrible time. How thoughtful?” he spat, voice full of sarcasm. “Whoever Luke is to you, he’s an awful person. He attacked me in that bathroom!”

“I know. I pestered him about it until he told me the truth. I knew it hadn’t made sense for you to leave like that without a reason. You must know that I am truly sorry for that.”

Castiel remained silent, swirling one of his fries in a blob of ketchup on his plate.

“I never would’ve have brought you around him if I knew that was the reaction he’d have. Cassie, I wish you no harm.” He pleaded.

Castiel mulled over his words for a bit. Taking in the general tone of them, he could tell that the man was at least genuine in his apology. That night had left such a foul taste in his mouth. Even with him saying that what happened hadn’t been his intention he just couldn’t get over the fact that he’d brought Castiel along with him. They both saw how he treated other people, approaching them with borderline hostility and predatory behavior. It was terrible to watch and even worse to experience.

“I don’t ever want to go to a place like that with you again.” He kept his voice as firm as possible to get his point across.

“I completely understand.” He broke eye contact.

“And I don’t care if you like Dean or not, but you will not disrespect him or our relationship.” 

“Wait what?” he scoffed. “I never said I didn’t like Dean. I hardly know the man.”

“Luke seemed to think so. I believe his words were ‘lowly car man with no ambition’.”

“I did not,” he shouted, noticing the eyes of the women hovering near the table he lowered his tone, “I did not say that about Dean. He simply asked what he did for a living and I said he was a mechanic. Those were not my words at all.”

“They better not have been. Regardless, I don’t want to see either of them again.”

“You won’t Cassie. You won’t.”


End file.
